'I'm very outnumbered here'

For a man who never thought he’d be a father, Chris Derozier has proven himself to be more than capable as a dad.

That was tested to the extreme on June 15, 2013, when his wife, Nathalie, and mother, Lori, were involved in a massive car crash on U.S. 93.

Nathalie, who was driving, had a seizure and lost control of the car. She was taken to the hospital with a smashed knee and two broken ankles. Another health problem was present as well.

“She was pregnant with my fourth daughter,” Derozier said. “When they got to the hospital they checked to make sure the baby was fine before doing any surgery on Nathalie. Then they called me and said, ‘Your wife isn’t having any surgery today, but you two are having a baby.’”

Sophia was born five weeks premature at just 5 pounds, 1 ounce. Fluid in her lungs and general premature baby health issues dropped her into the 4-pound range.

“They were there for a month,” Derozier said. “So every other day I’d round all the girls in my hunting truck, a Ford Bronco, get dinner and visit Nathalie and the baby.”

When the two came home, Nathalie was wheelchair-bound from her injuries, a premature baby needed attention and three other girls needed daddy to make dinner and take care of them. All that was coupled with running a preschool, New Frontier Learning Center.

Yes, on top of being a father of four, a husband, a trained chef and former truck driver, Derozier is a preschool teacher.

“I never even thought about having children,” he said. “I drove truck for nine years. But when we had our first daughter, I knew I didn’t want to miss a moment of their lives.”

With Charlotte, 10, Abigail, 5, Olivia, 3, and Sophia, who turned 2 last week, Derozier admits he’s the father of Ch.A.O.S., a moniker he happily accepts.

“The key to being a good father is spending individual time with your kids,” he said. “But that can be hard. That’s why I take my girls on daddy-daughter dates.”

The 39-year old most recently took his youngest to a pancake house for one of these dates. They ate each other’s meals for good measure.

Although Derozier was raised in the valley and sharpened his skills in professional kitchens in New York, four little girls isn’t something you can really prepare for, he said.

“Children will throw food back they don’t like. I never really had customers like that,” Derozier said. “And girls scream. The screaming was a surprise for me. I don’t know what it would be like to raise boys, but I’m very outnumbered here. Luckily my girls are rough and tough and like to play.”

Charlotte can be a hellion, he said, only half-joking. Abigail can be sweet and Olivia refuses to sleep at night. Each daughter is so different in so many ways it can be a whirlwind for the two parents, but one thing they all have in common is their love of mom and dad.

The girls are counted in the number of children at New Frontier, which currently has 24 kids enrolled. Derozier said he has made up for being a man in a female-dominated field by working his tail off at it.

“I’ve done a ton of training,” he said. “Probably in the last six years I’ve taken close to 400 hours of training.”

But as school is out, mid-June is a quiet period for Nathalie, Derozier, and his mother Lori Riley, who founded the learning center in September 2009. So he will take his grandfather golfing for Father’s Day, and chances are, he’ll have the high score.

“He just turned 89 and he golfs better than I do,” Derozier laughs.

The Deroziers belong to the Flathead Association for the Education of Young Children and seek to stay active in communities meant to improve pre-school education around the state and region.

“The biggest thing is taking advantage of all the resources we have available here,” he said. “We work with the Nurturing Center and their Best Beginning Scholarship. But as much school and class and training sessions can teach you about this career, there’s so much you never thought of. So many things that come as a surprise. It’s like being a dad.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.