Tonight on
19 Kids and Counting, watch Derick Dillard return to his role as Pistol Pete at Oklahoma State University, where he attended college from 2007-2011 (video below). Derick's late father, Rick Dillard, was Pistol Pete during his college days at OSU.
As a freshman, Derick secretly planned to try out for Pistol Pete as a surprise for his father, but Rick passed away unexpectedly in January 2008, due to an unknown heart condition.
"That was the first thing that Derick said when I told him that his dad
died: ‘I never got to tell him that I was going to try out for Pete,'"
Derick's mom, Cathy Dillard Byrum, told
The O'Colly in 2009.
Derick was devastated over the loss of his beloved father, but that did not stop him from accomplishing his goal. If anything, it made him more driven. Derick tried out for Pistol Pete in April 2008 but was unsuccessful. The following spring, he tried out again and made it.
"I think it was a way for him to give something back," Cathy said. "When
you lose someone you think of the stuff you wish you'd said, wish you'd
done, and this was a way for him to wrap that all up and give it back."
Derick has mentioned that he hopes baby Israel will following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a third generation Pistol Pete.
