About Roger
Lessons Learned from 49 Years of Marriage
My Story
The “Rookie Mistakes” book results from decades of taking notes on how some guys make their marriages better … and others mess things up. My own 49 years of marriage, and counseling with numerous couples has helped. What I’ve happily noticed is that we can usually make things much better with some focus, effort, and humor.


Personal Life
I grew up as a traveling Air Force kid who lived in Europe and several United States locations. My Dad was a superb athlete so I played sports enthusiastically. At a fairly young age, I branched out to rock music and ended up founding four or five rock groups, most of which were not that good. After doing a year of college, I did service in Sweden for two years for my Church which led teaching Swedish to college age youth. After returning from Sweden, my wife (GQ) and I got married at the ripe old ages of 20 and 21.
Later I worked as a direct salesman to help get through college and actually entertained the idea of doing that for my life. However, I had — somewhat naively — made a commitment to the Air Force during my junior year which resulted in me going active-duty in the Air Force after graduation. Along that way, I got a graduate degree in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and ended up counseling couples in a variety of settings. We liked the Air Force enough that we ended up staying for 25 years after which I worked as a defense contractor and Government civilian. Helping others build great relationships has been a lifelong passion.
Professional Achievements
“…rule number one if she ain’t happy… you ain’t happy…And if she ain’t happy long enough you’re gonna be unhappy with half your stuff.”
-Jeff Foxworthy

