Retired economist, worked for 30 years at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory the last five on an hourly basis after formally retiring in 2006. Decided to take up gardening and genealogy to woo me away from a professional attachment of nearly 50 years. So I used the last five years as a gentle glide into real retirement.
Started genealogy where my Dad had left off in 1978 when he died. Everything was on paper (nearly 1500 family group forms) then, so started moving it all into Family Tree Maker. Progress was slow, but published my first book, Maryland Descendants of Christian Rupp, 1732 – 1810, in 2014. At over 900 pages, it was a who-begat-whom, with none of the notes about people included. But it did update the genealogy of the Roop family first published in the 1930s. With Anne Davison, a cousin, I published a second genealogy, Descendants Christian Roop, 1764-1855, in 2019. (I will talk a bit more about the genealogy in another section of this blog.)
I became a Master Gardener in 2007 and have been active in the program ever since. I mentor other gardeners, work the plant clinic, and help with the demonstration garden a bit. In addition, I have a small greenhouse and about 15 raised beds that I plant most years.
I was married for nearly 52 years to Betty Jane (Reed) who passed away in June of 2017. I have a daughter, Beth Perez, and two grandsons, Ignacio and Sostenes. My daughter and sister-in-law are planning a joint celebration this fall for my 80th and nephew John Tordoff’s 30th birthdays.