He was just a hayseed from Wisconsin, raised on beer, cheese, and country music. Born a year before the stock market crash of 1929, and two years before the Great Depression, he grew up on a small dairy farm with wanderlust in his genes. Variety was the spice of his life except for his woman, the love of his life and best friend and wife, for more than 45 years. He was in military uniform (Army and Navy) in three wars (World War II, Korea and Vietnam), attended five universities, was a professional baseball player, high school teacher, college professor, Naval Officer and Navy Pilot, and built his own airplane in his garage. During his travels he visited 49 states and 25 countries.