I have always had a creative inclination from as far back as I can remember…making up my own games, writing stories, and amusing myself with long walks in pastures or woods, usually making myself believe I was on an important mission.  I’m a classic introvert and require alone time, often in my car exploring and not really knowing where I am going. Strangely, I find great joy and often inspiration while doing so.

I’m a baby boomer, born in February 1948 on George Washington’s birthday. I was told that George was considered for my name, but my mother honored my grandmother Riley’s request that I be named Drayton in honor of a great, great grandfather.  I’m pretty sure that neither Drayton nor George was a good-sounding fit for a middle name, so I became Drayton William. I was the second child born to Lauretta and Victor, eleven months after my brother John. My mother and father served in the army in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. They met in New Guinea and married in Manilla, Philippines, at the war’s end. Both are deceased.

I was born Catholic. I attended Catholic elementary, high school, and college and then taught, coached, and administered in Catholic schools for twelve years, commencing the year after I graduated in 1970 from a small liberal arts college, Sacred Heart (now Newman University), in Wichita. If you stick me with a fork, I bleed holy water.

Since 1982, I’ve been an independent contractor State Farm agent and still operate my agency in downtown Lee’s Summit.

 I see myself as the self-appointed patriarch of a blended family of stepsons: Ray, who is married to Leslie and Paul, and stepdaughter Angie. My two daughters from my first marriage are Kari, who is married to Scott, and Kim, who is newly engaged to Jake. There are five grandchildren living—Phoenix, Autumn, Kyler, Kaitlyn, and Taylor—and one deceased, Stephanie. I love and appreciate all of them very much.

My wife, Alberta, passed away on Memorial Day, 2019. I’m now single but still wear my wedding band. It feels to me like it belongs on my finger, not in a hiding place. Her death was the most tragic moment of my life and initiated a transformation in how I now live my life… with simplicity, connection, and presence.