I was born in Pasadena
in 1952. I was raised in the Disciples of Christ Church. Some of my fondest
memories are of Sunday School where I gained a solid Christian education. My
father and mother were active members of the church and my best friend is a
minister in the D of C. I was raised with a strong skepticism of Catholics -
we considered Catholics to be rather strange. About half my family were/are
Jehovah's Witnesses.
I majored in Engineering
at Cal Poly Pomona. I've spent almost 30 years in land surveying and mapping.
I began dating Liz Diaz
when I was 21 or so. We were both working at Disneyland. I attended Mass
with her occasionally. When it came time to marry we discussed religion and
came to an agreement that we would marry in the Catholic Church and raise our
kids Catholic, but I would keep close tabs on what they learned so that they
wouldn't pick up any of those Catholic "superstitions". Well, to make a long
story short, about 3 years after we married I began attending informal
information classes at St. George in Ontario and I joined the Church. I then
started taking adult education programs and in 1995 I decided to apply to
become a deacon. I was ordained by Bishop Barnes in 1999.
Liz and I have three
children and two grandchildren. We've lived in Hesperia since 1991. Liz is
currently on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities. This past year she
was Chairperson of the Hope for Youth Catholic Charities dinner which raised
$49,000.
After being ordained I
continued my education and in 2001 and received a Masters Degree in Systematic
Theology from Loyola Marymount University. Then, the bishop asked if I would
consider going to Catholic University in Washington DC for a degree in canon
law. Leaving my family, (especially Liz) and my career behind was difficult,
but I was ready for a challenge. God willing, I should be finishing my
thesis this coming summer.
I'm now retired from the
County Surveyors and currently work full time for the Office of Canonical
Services at the diocese.