At the risk of incurring Kathy Picl Rosati’s wrath at the reunion, I thought I should submit my bio now.

Like many of us, I started at Ohio State the in the Fall of 1967. I considered majoring in history. However, a first quarter brush with academic disaster ended those thoughts. I spent the next year or so finishing my requirements while I looked for another major. I finally settled on geology and managed to graduate in December, 1971.

I went through ROTC and I really thought about making the Army a career. A geology degree put me in the Corps of Engineers. But my basic training between my junior and senior years destroyed any desire of making the military my profession. Instead, after graduating I did my time on active duty, came home, and joined the National Guard. Although I learned the adage “One weekend a month and two weeks a summer.” is really only a guideline, I enjoyed the twenty-eight years I spent in the Guard. It was a change of pace from daily routine.

Finally home, I decided to emulate my father by starting law school. I graduated in 1976. At first, I did what most new lawyers do, namely taking any case that came my way. For a couple years, in the early 1980s, I was general counsel for an environmental group who wanted a lawyer with a geology degree. Eventually, I focused on probate law. It’s sedate and mostly non-stressful work, although I did participate in one of the biggest fist-fights in probate court history. (I was trying to stop it.). You’ll be able to read all about it when I publish my memoirs.

— John