Mike Jessup
Mailing Address:
1103 Wild Rose Road
Colbert, WA 99005
Phone: 509 467-4510
mcjessup@aol.com
As if I didn't have enough to do trying to appear busy when my wife is looking, my life has taken another turn -- I am now the Director of Development for the Spokane Drum Corps Association, Inc. We sponsor the Spokane Thunder Drum & Bugle Corps. This is a job (unpaid volunteer, but fun) that I really enjoy. Drum Corps has been in my blood forever, so this is great. The corps (ages 14 to 21) is only in its second year, but they are already getting noticed around the country -- they are very very good. They go on tour beginning in July (I won't be going --- I've done my time on drum corps tours in the past) and will compete in several shows.....
How is it possible that 40 years have elapsed since those "good old days"? Life was so much simpler then (and so was I, now that I think of it….)
In any event, here is my "life story" for the reunion website.
Following graduation I went on to the U of I to major in Electrical Engineering. After 2 years of that I was chosen to participate in a work-study program at Lockheed Missiles & Space Company in Sunnyvale, California along with fellow MHS classmate Mike Lowe. We shared an apartment in Mountain View along with another Vandal and had a great time being "rocket scientists". (Think about Mike and I and that should scare you…)
Upon returning to Moscow, I decided to change my major to Food Microbiology (the engineering math was a bit much for me --- sorry, Mr. Richman, I know you tried). I graduated even though I spent most of my time either at the Music Bldg (concert band, orchestra, marching band, pep band) or at the Radio TV center (KUID-FM, KUOI). After graduation I went to Spokane to seek fame and fortune doing health inspections and food poisoning investigations at the Spokane County Health District. After about 2 years there, I was offered a research assistant position (means you wash a LOT of laboratory glassware in return for no tuition) back at the U of I to get my master's degree.
With my MS in Food Science I went to work for the State of Washington in health care facility regulation (hospitals, nursing homes, etc.) "until I find the job that I really want…". Well, 31 years later I retired (2003)! During that time, I moved into program management, and then changed course completely and spent the last 12 years of my career in Information Technology. In that roll I did a lot of work on national projects with the federal Health Care Financing Administration, and spent a couple of years traveling around the country working with other states on data processing issues (all at taxpayer expense, of course).
On the personal side I was married and then divorced about 15 years later. That marriage produced 2 of the greatest kids in the world. My daughter, Heidi, graduated from the Univ. of Washington and works as a research scientist for Amgen in Seattle. She does research on inflammatory disease processes, and when she tells me about her work, my eyes glaze over because I haven't a clue what she is telling me!! My son, David, is a computer wizard in Portland working on voice over internet and networking things (again, I'm a bit too illiterate to really understand). He and a couple of cohorts have just started their own company, and I expect it will be a great success. They are the "lights of my life", and I'm very proud of both of them.
In 1979 I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease (a nasty intestinal disease), and came close to leaving this earth. The Lord was watching over me, however, and provided a very fine, skilled surgeon who was able to patch my insides back together and save me. I still have flare-ups and take lots of medication (keeping the local pharmacy in business), but am doing fine. It's interesting that Crohn's is one of the inflammatory diseases that Heidi does research on.
In 1990 I married a wonderful lady named Rhoene who is an RN and does consulting work all over the nation. She travels a lot, and I stay home and tend to our 6 cats and 4 dogs. She has 2 boys - David who has his own landscaping business in Spokane specializing in water features, and Mark who is just completing his course work in Phoenix to be a Harley-Davidson motorcycle mechanic. They are also great kids.
Thanks to the reunion committee and to Bill and Connie Sever for this great website.
Looking forward to seeing everyone this summer……!