Telling Your Story

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This is written to encourage readers to write their own biography which could be invaluable to their family and friends as well as the writer.

I was born on 10/31/1927 (Halloween) but sadly, my mother surrendered to cancer in 1930 shortly after we had moved from Chicago to Grand Rapids. Dad remarried and after14 years we moved to Buffalo, Minnesota and Uncle Sam caught up with me and I was nearly drafted into the Army but ended up in the Navy, assigned to a troop transport and we ended up in the Marshal Islands for the experimental Bikini atom bomb test. Soon after this all Naval reserves were to be discharged by August 20, 1946 and our troop transport was filled with Naval sailors heading for discharge.

With the GI Bill colleges and universities were over-crowded with veterans. My Dad contacted a friend who ran a boarding house in Chicago which had room for me and my younger sister. Mim and I were off for North Park Jr. College.

I finished my degree at the University of Minnesota and decided to get some religious training at Bethel Seminary in the Twin Cities but finished at North Park Seminary and went to Traverse City, Michigan to become West Bay’s first full-time pastor even though I stilll felt inclined to be a professor. After two years at West Bay Covenant Church, I had two invitations to be a youth pastor in Oregon and California. I chose Los Angeles partly because of its University of Southern California where I earned my Master’s Degree. I also married Barbara Johnson in 1959 in Muskegon, Michigan.

When our L.A. Senior Pastor was absent a College Professor was our guest preacher. We had a long conversation after the service which led to his suggestion that I should teach at Azusa Pacific College and my earlier wish was fulfilled. In my second year I was made Dean of Students but before long, the President of North Park College (now University) called inviting me into its faculty and to serve also as chief in the Freshman Dormitory. It was a challenge too difficult to turn down and after four years, again the phone rang and I was invited to be the youth pastor in then our largest denominational church in Minneapolis where my Father had met Selma, his first wife and my mother.

I was assigned to write a monthly article in First Covenant Church’s monthly magazine. Not a writer, but after awhile two publishers contacted me. One wanted me to rewrite an outdated book: It became Letters to Chip. The other publisher wanted to publish my articles and it became a book Who’s Out of Focus. Not a professional writer, I ended up with over twenty books published mostly related to my multiple careers.

Now a quick summary of my latest years. Once again the phone rang (lucky me) and I was offered two opportunities: 1, to be a Professor at Bethel College and 2. as Pastor in Berkeley, California. Berkeley Covenant was without a pastor for two years and it won the toss. We enjoyed our ministry with a home on the hillside overlooking San Francisco when another call came after 4 years asking if we would go to Stockholm. I interrupted and asked Stockholm, Wisconsin? The reply was quick. NO, Sweden!

The decision went back and forth with Laurie and Scott, our children and off the four of us went to establish an International Church with the Swedish Immanuel Church our Sister Congregation in Stockholm. Afterr 3 1/3 years we returned to the States enabling our daughter to finish High School in Muskegon, Michigan Barbara’s home town. The pastor of our church there had just resigned and I became the Interim Pastor lasting four years as the congregation debated the issue of remaining downtown or relocating. They voted in favor of a new location and just before construction began, a Covenant Missionary Jerry Reed approached us asking if we would go to Mexico City to help establish an English speaking International Church and off Barbara and I went while our children remained in the States although Scott did join us for 9 months to learn the Spanish Language.

We fulfilled our term of two years and returned to the States without a place to go when unexpectedly on a visit to our son Scott at North Park College in Chicago we went to church where a Retirement Home Chaplain was honored for his service. When we went to shake hands with him, he said, Dan, what are you doing here. I thought you were still in Mexico? After a short conversation he spoke up, Dan, why don’t you take my job? After a couple of visits to the Retirement Home we accepted the position of Interim Chaplain as a chaplain had already been hired but was unavailable for a few months.

Soon my earlier comment What, me work with all those old people? vanished as we fell in love with the residents and staff while living temporarily in one of the apartments for a few months until the new Chaplain was available. Now where we wondered? A residential couple who years earlier were members of the church in Grand Rapids where my father was pastor. They knew me as Danny then and and asked if I would like to be a Chaplain in California. Their son was an Administrator of three Retirement Homes and one was without a Chaplain. After a visit to the Samarkand Retirement Community in Santa Barbara, I was asked to be their Chaplain.

Barbara and I spent ten wonderful years in the beautiful city with a fantastic Retirement Center. Barb worked for the first time in our marriage for two wonderful housewives who ran a magnificent Gift Shop and I used to kid her by saying that she should pay them for letting her work as she enjoyed it so much. I retired in 1995 at age 68 and we lingered on in Santa Barbara until 1999 when we moved to Phoenix, Arizona to spend six years near dear friends who urged us to try desert living which we did enjoy. We then tried to move closer to our daughter Laurie in Minnesota and our Son Scott in Chicago and their families but settled in Barb’s home town of Muskegon for ten years before moving to Covenant Living Retirement Home in Grand Rapids so we were nearly back home where we both grew up.

Writing or typing a story abbreviated or detailed of one’s life may never be published but it can be very beneficial both to the writer as well as family and friends. I recommend it for anyone and everyone for its pleasures, memories, challenges and yes, beneficial components, and it doesn’t have to be done overnight or profeessionally Do give it some thought but don’t wait too long and feel free to ask for some assistance for a life-sustaining aspiration as everyone has a life’s experience.