June 2007

I was born in Kalispell, Montana in 1949, and grew up on our family farm. My parents have passed on, but my brother still farms there. Though I leave things mechanical and agricultural to my wife Cheri, I think my roots are pretty solid.

Kalispell is located in Flathead Valley, just south of Glacier National Park. It is beautiful country, lush and mountainous, though growing up I took it for granted. I didn’t leave home much until college, never rode on a plane until I was a high school senior. I attended grade school in one of the last one-room schools in the area. There were fifteen of us in eight grades. I was alone in the first grade, and was ‘promoted’ a grade the next year when the teacher forgot to order books for me. High school was a bit of a shock, with over 350 fellow freshmen.

We attended a rural church during my early years, the Creston Gospel Chapel, very fundamentalist. I remember asking the Sunday School teacher questions about a chart he brought to class which detailed the history of the world, beginning about 4000 BC. In high school I attended a Presbyterian Church, which was Mom’s idea. She was the overtly religious one in our family; Dad just tagged along occasionally, or stayed home and drove his tractor.

During summers, Mom enrolled my brother and me in Mennonite Bible School. I enjoyed it, and learned a lot of the Bible stories and memorized tons of verses under the tutelage of various Mennonite parents/teachers. I especially liked softball during recess.

I went to Montana State University in Bozeman, where I enjoyed the turmoil and experimentation of the 60’s, studied Philosophy and Math, met Cheri, and learned about non-Christian religions. I studied Sanskrit and Chinese, among other things.

After marriage, we attended Presbyterian and Congregational churches. We also took a two-year Bible study course (teacher training, though I never taught), which was great. I think I have a good feeling for the big picture the Bible presents, though I am certainly no expert.

I took a Master’s degree in Oriental Studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson, which helped me land a job in Tokyo with the Nevada Department of Economic Development. Cheri and I both loved Japan.

When we returned from Japan in 1974, we bought a house, Cheri became pregnant, and I had to find a new job rather quickly. I ended up with a career in insurance and risk management, which has served us well, though it certainly has never been my passion. Unfortunately, there was no other career direction which I was passionate about either, so I guess it didn’t matter.

I now teach risk management seminars nationwide, consult to local Nevada governments, and teach part-time at UNR, where I finished an MS in Economics two years ago. I think I am becoming passionate about economics and finance. These subjects can be used to analyze and promote changes in many areas of concern to me, such as the environment, health care, poverty, and social welfare.

Cheri and I have two very cool sons. Corbin is teaching in Qatar, and I look forward to seeing him when he returns in a few weeks. Ivan, Janelle, and Cooper (age 5) live in Spokane, and I hope to go sailing with them in July.

Cheri is also pretty cool. We met on a blind date in college. As I recall, I was wearing a tuxedo when she first spotted me, and it was love at first sight. She has a great sense of humor (meaning she laughs at my jokes), and is a great friend and partner.

I attended Friends Meeting in Hartford, Connecticut over twenty years ago, and was quite interested but it didn’t seem appropriate for our family at the time. I attended in Austin, Texas over ten years ago, again felt I was home, and was pleased to find Cheri was open to attending as well. We became regulars there, and searched out Reno Friends as soon as we arrived here, in 1999, even though it meant a commute from our home in Carson City. I joined this Meeting within a year or two. I enjoy my involvement with Friends very much, and feel it has helped me grow a lot spiritually, though I have far to go yet.