Kathryn and I live with our kids (and chickens) in Aloha.

Home life is a maelstrom of activity. On any given day, you may witness bag-piping, remodeling, singing, welding, reading, rocket-building, fashion designing, bird watching, apple-saucing, movie watching, chicken coop building, praying, Rocket-League, or homework.

We have five children from elementary age to teenagers.

(Perhaps the funniest comment I ever received about having five children was the gentle suggestion that, “hey, maybe you ought to finish that dissertation on contraception.”) I have a PhD in history.

Along the way, I have been involved in volunteering at our church and coaching soccer. At this point, I spend most of my volunteer hours with the most widely known yet underappreciated non-profit organization of them all, Par Enting.

When seated, I enjoy reading and discussing literature (novels, history, theology, you name it) and movies (action, drama, you name it). I thrill to see a good sports contest. While I do more watching now than playing, I still can run in a straight line; so, I run (Hood-to-Coast or Canby Dahlia Run anyone?). I also love the endless wonder of trees and remain captivated by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Let me know how I can help. Call, text, or schedule a time.

Life—not always what you expect.  

So, history, contraception, a landslide, and then insurance? What gives? Life can throw us some real curve balls.

Working in a history program at Notre Dame University, I was teaching and writing a history dissertation trying to understand changing views about contraception among Christians. Then, on January 19, 2012, my wife Kathryn and I received a distress call from my in-laws in Corvallis. Their house was collapsing in a mudslide.

They escaped, but over several horrific hours, they watched their house and their business shudder into ruin. Over the next several months, through the support of friends, church, and family—and their own grit—they relocated to Beaverton where we have family. We determined the best way to help family through the trauma was to be near.

So, we paused the dissertation, sold our house, and loaded up the moving truck and minivan. I will never forget the breathtaking descent into the Columbia Gorge. We made it to Beaverton, where we settled into the delightful Hyland Park neighborhood to live only three blocks from Grandma and Grandpa and family for several years. (We’ve since purchased a home in Aloha, sandwiched between Hillsboro and Beaverton.)

So, how does insurance fit in? Upon moving here, I took a position working for an upstanding insurance agent named Scott Edmonds in Lake Oswego. For 8 years I worked in many different agency roles. Although Scott retired (40 years an agent!), I learned important lessons from him, our clients, and my colleagues, lessons that have shaped my views about what makes for a sensible approach to insurance.

I’ve established Sensible Insurance PNW so I can continue to serving our community with professionalism, thoughtfulness, and care.

Let me know how I can help. Call, text, or schedule a time.