I attended East Christian High School and spent two years at GRCC, studying law enforcement. My real love was for cars, though, so for several years I worked in the auto body business. In 1995 I started an office cleaning business and employed several high school kids, including my own 7 teenagers. I was getting tired of the headaches that come with being a business owner, so when the position of maintenance supervisor opened up at South Christian, I applied and have been here since January of 2001.
My wife, Marva, and I have 8 children – all of whom have attended, or are attending, South Chr. Jeremy, is married to Tina and they have two sons, Braden and Evan. Ryan, is married to Heather and they have three children, Abby, Ty and Kate. Betsy, is married to Dusty VanderPlaats. Ben, is married to Cat. Holly, is married to Allen Grays. They have two sons, Taeron and Dontae. Erica, is married to Ben Benting, and they have 5 children, Isaac, Lyvia, Zippora, Elle and Zacariah. Emily, is married to Joe Kloosterman. They have three children, Elijah, Jacob and Lucy. Laiya, is a sophomore at South. She joined our family (from Hong Kong) in 2008. I enjoy spending time with my kids and grandkids – especially at my mother-in-law’s cottage in the summer. I also love working in the yard. I don’t read much, but recently I read “The Same Kind of Different as Me” and would recommend it to everyone.
God used my parents, my church and the Christian schools that I attended to mold me into the person that I am today. I have had situations in my lifetime that have really challenged my faith, but through these times, I have learned to trust in God completely. I had to learn that I am not in control, but He is.
