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Upon graduation from Pampa High School, I attended West Texas State University, where I graduated with a BS in Industrial Technology in May, 1962. While in Canyon, I married the love of my life, Jo Hutton.

Marriage bliss, however, soon gave way to stark reality, and old Darrel found it necessary to take on odd jobs in order to support a bride and to complete that college degree. Some of those delightful titles included: Concrete truck driver, Sign painter, Supervisor of youth at Amarillo's Maverick Boys Club, and Sand blaster of oil storage tanks for Baker Plastics of Pampa.

By the time I penned by first teaching contract in Borger, Jo and I had two sons, Darrel Jr., and Victor. That job interview was interesting. The superintendent, Dr. Little, concluded the short conference by rolling a cigar between his thumb and forefinger, looking me straight in the eyes and asking, "Darrel, are you a Christian?"

The Borger teaching experience spanned a period of seven years (1962-69) and included grades 8 and 9 in Sam Houston Junior High and grades 11 and 12 at the high school. This granted me the opportunity to complete a Master's in Education and allowed my wife to start on a degree at Frank Phillips College. In the meantime, both boys started elementary school.

In the summer of 1969, I had the good fortune of being offered a position at South Plains College in Levelland, Tx. The timing was good, because the kids were young enough that the trauma of school change proved little problem.

At SPC, I was assigned to teach Engineering Graphics for 2 year drafting students and pre-engineering majors. After a few years, the computer era struck the drafting industry full force and it became necessary for me to retrain several times to adapt to newer and more innovative software geared specifically for mechanical and architectural designing. During this time, Jo continued her coursework at SPC, then transferred to Texas Tech where she conpleted her BS degree for teaching. Soon after, both our sons graduated from high school as Valedictorian of their classes, and for all this I feel truly blessed.

Life shifted into high gear as I finally became Chairman of the Industrial Technology Department and my wife took on the duties as Coordinator of State Records for the college. By this time our sons were in college.

With our kids finally away from home, Jo and I were able to take an Alaska and a Mexican Riviera cruise, honeymoon trips that we had not been able to take earlier.

Darrel Jr., the oldest of our offsprings, became an Electronic Engineer and now resides in Houston where he contracts with NASA in space program computer controls. He and his wife, Kirsten, provided us with three beautiful (aren't they always?) grand kids.

Victor, the more artistic of the two, became a Graphic Designer for a television station in Minneapolis, Mn. He has remained unmarried these many years.

My questionable artistic ability has helped me to pursue several hobbies including sketch renderings, designing custom made knives, and woodworking. Being an outdoorsman by nature, I also love to hunt and fish.

Jo's declining health prompted me to finally retire in 1999. This gave us more time to spend together and allowed me more time for interests outside the realm of education.