I was born and raised in western Pennsylvania. Before arriving at the Academy as a Deckie in 1948, I had sailed as coal passer, deckhand, oiler, watertender, and AB on the Lakes as well as the deep-sea.

   After graduation in 1952 shipping was slow, and I continued sailing as AB for a few months, first on the Great Lakes and later aboard an ESSO tanker. Then, from 1953 through 1955, I was aboard a Navy minesweeper as Operations Officer.              

  Following that, in 1956 and 1957, I sailed as junior 3rd and senior 3rd mate aboard Moore-McCormack Lines' passenger liner, SS Brazil.

   Then I went ashore and, for the next five years, worked for The Martin Company in Denver on the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile program. During that time I became active in local Republican politics. I spent the summer and fall of 1964 on the Republican National Finance Committee staff in Washington.

   After the 1964 presidential campaign, I worked in the oil exploration, cable television, radio paging, and cellular telephone businesses. In 1992 I sold my cellular telephone business and for all intents and purposes, retired.

   Since then I have been involved with local charities. I married in 1962. We have a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren, our third child, a daughter, passed away two years ago.