Born August 23, 1952 in Springfield, Mo

All my siblings have very common names, Jim, John, Betty, Bill, Jerry, Phil, Theresa, Paul and Don. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to repeat my name when introducing myself. I can say that I’m very proud to have been named after my Uncle Irvin. When I was born I came out with a carrot top and he was red headed. I can only wish that I could have met him. From what I have heard he was a really nice man and a lot of fun to be around.

I was born in Springfield Mo. August 23, 1952. I was only 8 months old when the family moved backed to Timken. So I grew up in Timken and still very proud of it. Looking back at my childhood in our little community of 150 people was as good as it gets. I guess at the time I was a little jealous of kids that lived in the bigger towns, because I thought they had more than what we had. We actually had a lot more than them. We had to make our own fun, created our own games and rules “Timken Rules”, played football, baseball, basketball year round. I remember when Jim’s High School Basketball team went to the State tournament. Aunt Bertha babysat all of the young ones and we tried to listen to the game on the radio. The static was so bad it was fruitless. Good thing, because they got their butts kicked. We used to have a stove in the washroom and used it to warm up the basketball so it would bounce in the very cold winter days. Our front yard used to have a big dirt bare spot down the middle. Someone asked Dad why he didn’t take better care of his lawn. He said, “I’m raising kids not grass.”  I have no idea how many windows Dad had to replace from baseballs. There was always something to do in that little town. It was either playing baseball in Jim Pivonka’s back yard or playing basketball at Bud Pivonka’s , he had a cement  driveway, a little easier to dribble there than on the rocks we had. We also played Army with Mark Reha and Oris Serpan, or football games in Ernie Holopirek’s back yard. We would go coon hunting with Jim Pozalik or play pool at Al’s Place or played rummy at Grandpa’s. We’d hunt pheasants, ducks and rabbits or fish in the creek. We tried to find where Leo Helfrich hid his whiskey.  We would be educated at Shorty Jacob’s trailer house. Kids in the big city only wished they could have had the experiences we had.  All of boy’s served Mass every day before elementary school. We were brought up with a solid foundation. We all ended up with knots on our head if we didn’t act right in church and Mom wasn’t afraid to use a strap on us at home. Most of us worked for our cousin Melvin Erb hauling bails or other farmers to make some money. We all drove the tractor for Grandpa. I think Jim was the only one that got paid. I’m sure most of us brought a little baby rabbit home we chased down in the field that would die in a day or two.

Growing up I was all about playing sports. I loved it and I loved to compete. I guess that came from my brothers. Some of our games got pretty serious. Nobody wanted to lose. If you ask Philip he might tell you I was a little over the top. I had him hit me ground ball after ground ball till I was tired, I didn’t care if he was. He put up with a lot from me. But, nobody ever messed with him because they knew they would have to deal with me. He turned out OK.

I joined the Air Force in 1971 and protected our country for five tough years. I toiled in a hanger and lead Student Fighter Pilots, during the Viet Nam Conflict, to be strong physically and mentally. War was HELL!!! I was rewarded with my efforts with TDY’s (temporary duty) trips to play football, basketball, volleyball and softball on Base teams, all over the country.

When I first joined the Air Force my brother John worked in assignments in Washington DC. He asked me where I wanted to be stationed and he could help me out. I told him I would like to somewhere close to home, Forbes or McConnell. I got my orders in Basic and I was to be assigned to March AFB in California, a “SAC” base. There is the Air Force and there is SAC. I thought I was headed to some rice patty in Viet Nam. Well John was pretty mad when things didn’t work out. He called me when I was on leave at home and asked me if I would like to come to Washington DC. So I headed to DC and he asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I have no idea. He told me to take a couple of days and try to make a decision. He and I went to play basketball over noon hour and I saw some guys in coaches shorts and polo shirts. I asked him who those guys were. He said they were airman. Two days later I reported to the gym for my first assignment. I loved working in the gym but I hated Washington DC. Well everything went pretty good but when I left basic all my paperwork went to March AFB. They had me down as AWOL and a deserter. The Rush County Sherriff came to see my Dad to find out what happened. Everything worked out. I left Washington DC and transferred to Randolph AFB in Oct of 1972 and my roommate was Philip. John transferred a little later and all three of us were there at the same time. Pretty cool.

I got out of the Air Force and went to Blinn Jr College. Played football there and met my future wife Vickie. Vickie then went to Southwest Texas State where she was a Stutter “a dance team”.  I went to The University of Houston and played football there. I was fortunate to be on a team that played in two Cotton Bowls. Lost to Notre Dame in the 1979 Cotton Bowl and beat Nebraska in the 1980 Cotton Bowl. What a great experience.

I moved to Colorado in 1980. I lived with Jim during my college years in Lakewood Co. I knew this was where I wanted to live. I owe both Jim and John a lot. I doubt if I will ever be able to repay them. But that is what our family is all about. Any one of us would be more than happy to help each other out.

Vickie and I would reunite about seven years after college. She was teaching in Texas and ended up moving to Colorado and we got married on July 7, 1990. We now have three children Gabrielle, Thomas or “Tommy” and Matthew.  We are very proud and love all three. They all went to Catholic Schools K thru 12. Gabrielle was a dancer starting at the age of 3. She then turned to cheerleading and traveled nationally in competitions. She went to TCU and cheered for the Horned Frogs in the BCS Fiesta Bowl. She transferred her sophomore year and is finishing out her college at The University of Colorado. Tommy is studying at Colorado State University. He joined the Army reserves and went through his basic training in Ft Jackson South Carolina. He played football and baseball in High School and won a State Championship ring in baseball. He might be the most competitive person I’ve ever been around. He hates to lose. Matthew is now finishing up at Holy Family High School. He also plays football and baseball. He is working very hard to be the best he can be. I’m very proud of all their efforts.

I guess I’ve rambled on long enough. But I will tell you I feel Very Blessed to be a part of this family. I just pray we will all be united some day with our Mom and Dad, Frances and Leonard.

GOD BLESS