I was born in Dayton Ohio, but the family moved to Anderson, Indiana when my twin brother and I were four years old so the my dad could work at the Delco Remy plant located there. My dad died when I was 14, and my mother loaded my brother and I, an older sister, and the dog into a brand new 1934 Ford and headed for California.

It was the year of the dust bowl, and cattle were dying along the road from thirst. It was truly an adventure for a widowed mother and her family. We finally ended up in Southern California.

My brother and I attended Herbert Hoover High in Glendale, California and later Glendale Junior College.