I currently live in Tempe, Arizona (home of ASU, the Fiesta Bowl, and 115 degree summers), am happily married, have 4 grown children (3 boys, 1 girl – all still single – no grandchildren), and 4 dogs. 

 I am a Senior Manager of Technology for the new US Airways (formerly America West Airlines).  My team designs/builds the software for, and supports the computers and networks at 248 airports in the US, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Europe and Latin America.  I do travel a good deal and when I need a break, I just hop a flight going some place where there's an ocean nearby.  This desert living still seems a little strange to me after 28 years. 

Right after high school, I attended Western in Bellingham, initially rooming with my friend and former Clover Park classmate Russ Wiecking.  Russ was very serious about studies and I, on the other hand, got caught up in all the fun things I could never do at home in Lakewood.  After 2+ years of college, I decided the US NAVY looked better than the draft.  As a math and physics major with work experience with computers (at the University and also at Weyerhaeuser in Tacoma between school sessions), the Navy made me a deal I could not refuse.  I enlisted in early 1968 and put in 10 years enjoying the best the Navy could offer.  I worked for an Admiral at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii for 2 years (running computers at night/hitting the beach during the day) and then volunteered for the Submarine Service.  I then spent the better part of the next 6 years traveling the world.  Some of the more memorable locations include Holy Loch, Scotland; Rota, Spain; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Panama; Christchurch, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia.  It was during this period that I began a freelance photography business, taking assignments wherever the Navy sent me.  I was also stationed in Bremerton for a while and was able to finish my degree in Computer Science.  Also during this period I married.  Later on, while in the Naval Reserve, I took a computer programming job at a Seattle bank (that became Rainier National Bank).  While there, my first son, Matthew (who currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona), was born in 1976.  Despite the joy associated with that event, 1975-76 were tough years for me as I suffered my first heart attack and then a stroke.  Maybe I needed to slow down a little. 

Arizona was my first wife's home and she was not thrilled with everyone in the Northwest telling her how lucky she was to be in Seattle.  Eventually it was no longer funny.  We decided to move – big sigh.  My computer skills and knowledge of banking served me well as I joined the top banking organization in Arizona.  I became a manager of programmers and took on consulting positions across the country.  Eventually I lead bank conversions from a technology point of view and became part of the First Interstate, Chase, Norwest, and Wells Fargo organizations.  During this time, in 1979 my second son, Michael (currently with the Army's 13^th COSCOM at Fort Hood, Texas), was born and then in 1983, we adopted my daughter SueAnne (currently in Chandler, Arizona).  After 18 continuous years of almost non-stop grinding mergers and travel, I left banking and took some time off (not really, as I then started a graphics design business, In Great Detail, helped start up a now thriving ISP and got involved in data processing projects for 200 pharmaceutical companies).  In the end, I had been on the road so much I barely knew my family.  There was a divorce. 

And then I met Laura (she’s from Wisconsin).  In 1992, we were married.  She was, and still is, the best thing to ever happen to me.  Her wonderful sense of humor has helped balance me out.  I do not know how I ever would have handled so much stress if she had not been at my side.  If you ask her to, I’m sure she’d be willing to tell you something funny (she has plenty of humorous stories) about me.  Her son (also a Matthew) from her first marriage came along and we have since had a great 13 years.

On top of that, surviving another heart attack (2000) and some incredible luck with 2 plane crashes (1971 & 1985) make me profoundly aware of how fortunate I am and have been.  Yes, the glass is half full, not half empty.

I greatly look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion!

John