Tom's first 18 years was spent in a small rural farming community in Southern Michigan. He started hunting, small and large game, at an early age and spent all his spare time in the outdoors. When he was age eleven he spent the summer in Biloxi, Miss. and when he was twelve, spent his summer in Mobile, Alabama. Before attending college, Tom traveled to several central and western states which sparked his interest in history and stories of adventures. After attending college in Colorado, he fell in love with his wife and settled in Colorado. He worked for the gas & electric utility in Denver for 37 years, obtained his masters degree in management/human relations and organizational behavior and is now retired, living in the Sioux Falls, SD area.