He was born October 20, 1941, in Chamberlain, South Dakota and graduated from Winner High School in 1960.
He attended South Dakota State University and South Dakota Southern State Teachers College, and graduated from Doane College in human relations in 1995.
He worked with troubled youth for 35 years being a member of the Nebraska and National Associations of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors and a former Boys Town counselor and administrator.
[citation needed] He died on March 16, 2021, in Omaha, Nebraska, at age 79.
He was eulogized on the floor of the Legislature by Senator Lou Ann Linehan the day following his death.