I was born on April 6th, 1924 in Tennessee, but I have lived my life in the west and southwest. I was a child of the depression. Holes in our shoes and patches on our clothes were the norm.

I dropped out of school and joined the Marines in 1943. I served in the South Pacific where I participated in the invasion of Guam and Iwo Jima.

I used the G. I. Bill to earn a Master’s Degree in Education then served forty years in public schools.