About

I grew up in Southeastern Ohio, starting life very humbly in the small town of Antioch. By the time I was in the fifth grade, we moved to Woodsfield, the County Seat of Monroe County.

I learned to play the piano when I was six years old, practicing on the piano my Grandmother Pearl was given by her Grandmother Fordyce. By the time I was eleven years old, I was the church organist and played the pipe organ at our country church.

Quickly I became known for my music and became the school pianist.

From the time I was five years old, I knew that I wanted to be a Buckeye. Without family funds, I knew I had to be creative to find a way to go to school.

My first job was at the Monroe County Home when I was fourteen years old, an eye opener for a teenager. I tried to work at least every summer to save for college. I continued to play the piano, and also got my first horse, Jeanie, and won awards at the Monroe County Fair in 4-H.

As a Woodsfield High School Redskin, I participated in band, French Club and several activities, then graduated from Woodsfield High School in 1976, near the top of my class.

Between the money I had saved, the scholarships I had qualified for and the loans I took out, I was finally admitted to the Ohio State University! My first years were spent living in the Stadium Scholarship Dormitory, where I got a fine taste of campus life, and Woody Hayes.

I became a journalism major, as I loved to write. Still, I continued working at Lazarus during the school year, and eventually the newspaper in my home town, the Spirit of Democracy.

Following the best years of my life being a Buckeye, I graduated from The Ohio State University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism

Not being content with my Journalism Degree, I wanted to further my education, and applied to and was admitted to the Ohio State University Law School. I graduated from The Ohio State University Law School in 1983 with a degree of Juris Doctor

Following graduation, I knew I wanted to have as my home a medium sized town. I began knocking on doors until I found a job in the town I would eventually call home: Newark. My first job as a lawyer was thus as an Assistant Licking County Prosecuting Attorney. I worked at that office from 1983 to 2002, at first on a full time basis, then as a part-time attorney representing Licking County Townships in relation to zoning and all township business matters.

I decided to open my own private office in 1985, and soon developed a reputation for being a family law attorney. I have maintained my private office continuously since then.

In 2002, I left the prosecutor’s office, and shortly thereafter became the Solicitor for the Village of Kirkersville, where I advised the Village of business matters and prosecuted all village misdemeanor crimes. I remained as solicitor until 2009, when I retired from public service.

My office is located in the old First National Bank Building at One South Park Place, famous for the Gargoyle over the door. Kept in character for the era of its construction in the 1870’s, the building was retrofitted with tin ceilings and stained glass. It has become filled with my personal antique collection as well as my Buckeye collection – providing clients and visitors with my own eclectic mix of Victorian and Buckeye sports.

My current hobbies and interests include riding horses, camping, skiing, playing the piano, reading, ghost hunting and gardening.

I have one son who is twenty nine years of age, a graduate of Newark High School, who is a scholar and a musician, and who is attending school at The Ohio State University.

I am Past President of the Licking County Bar Association, where I served on the Executive Committee, and continue to serve on the Family Law Committee, Law Day Committee, and Social Committee.  I am also a member of the Ohio State Bar Association.