Even as a young child growing up in the West Texas oil fields, I always wanted to be a trial lawyer. I am grateful that I was able to achieve that dream and able to observe the skills of excellent lawyers in my court, in alternative dispute situations and in my community.

My wife of fifty-one years followed her own professional goals with distinction, retiring as a high school history teacher after forty years. We share interests in reading history, especially Texas history, and art. I have served in the past on the boards of the Odessa Arts Council, Meals and Wheels, and the Permian Playhouse. My wife now serves on the board of Odessa College, the Noel Art Museum and the Tom Lea Institute. Not surprisingly, one of our children is a high school English/History teacher and the other is an artist.

We spend as much time as we can at our home near Ft. Davis. But there is still no more satisfying feeling that slipping on my judge's robe and dealing with complex legal and factual issues with fairness and integrity.