My story is simple. I grew up on Vashon Island, in the midst of Puget Sound, with my brother Grant and my sister Janet, fished the local waters with my father and grandfather, went off to Seattle where I graduated from Roosevelt High School, and then left for college and a corporate career that took me around the globe. Early in my journey, I fell in love and married Flo DeTurk, who also graduated from Roosevelt (a story there), and we raised two wonderful children, Erik and Anna.

We always said we would return to the northwest when I retired, and when Flo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, that became our priority. We moved to Port Ludlow, Washington in 2005 and devoted ourselves to creating Shine, our special place on the shore of Hood Canal, which we did before Flo passed in 2007. Since then, I have devoted my time to the garden, my camera, and writing some poetry. They say it is never too late to discover your creative side.