I graduated high school at 16, joined the U.S. Navy at 17, and became a Communications Technician—apparently I was in a hurry to grow up. I also married my high school sweetheart at 18, which turned out to be the start of a ten-year Navy adventure that took us to Washington, D.C., Boston, Japan, Puerto Rico, Pensacola, Florida, and finally Seattle, where I was discharged. While in Puerto Rico, I competed on the Navy’s pistol and rifle teams and traveled to Atlantic theatre and All-Navy matches—because every good tropical assignment should include firearms.

After the Navy, I survived life as a journeyman electrician at the Kaiser Aluminum plant near Spokane, started and sold a full-service internet company that became the third largest in Eastern Washington, and then spent ten years as an electronics technician at the main U.S. Postal Service distribution plant in Spokane. Then life hit hard—my wife of 50 years and my older brother passed away within two weeks of each other. That kind of loss changes you. I knew I needed a fresh start.

So I packed up and moved to Prescott, Arizona without knowing a single soul, determined to reinvent myself and live without the weight of expectations—just be me. That’s where I met Faye. To be part of her life and support her, I became a REALTOR and discovered I genuinely loved it. Together with her family, we started KMF Real Estate with the belief that it’s not always about the money (sometimes known in the industry as “commission breath”).

These days, you’ll find me enjoying life with Faye, dancing to Country & Western music, spending time with our three rescue dogs, and happily getting my hands dirty in our flower beds and greenhouse—because after everything, there’s nothing better than watching things grow.