New Jersey high school's principal dies after donating bone marrow to teen

WESTFIELD, N.J. — Abery Conrad and Adam Holtzman are gathering remembrances for Westfield High School's newspaper after their much admired principal died. They say they have been completely humbled by the responsibility. "Even if you never even spoke a word with him, his impact was felt the moment you walked in as a freshman or the moment you left as a senior," Holtzman told WABC.

Dr. Derrick Nelson was a leader in Westfield and in his hometown of Plainfield. He is already deeply and sorely missed. "One custodian spoke about the fact, he looks at all of us the same. He saw all of us the same. So that respect came through," said Superintendent Dr. Margaret Dolan.

TRENDING NOW:

Nelson fell into a coma earlier this year. He was donating bone marrow for a family's child he did not know, a child more than 3,600 miles away in France, simply because he was a match. Nelson lived a lifetime of serving others. "Somehow he also managed to serve in the U.S. Army Reserves for 20 years, and he served his country in the Middle East," said Dolan.

Nelson is survived by his parents, his 6-year-old daughter and a fiancee. He is also survived by the thousands of young lives that he helped nurture. "It's really tough now and we want to commemorate and honor his legacy," said Holtzman.

CNN/WABC