The day we graduated from Las Lomas I changed my name to the name I was born with, Toohey. I went to DVC for a year and was not interested at all in more school. I heard about the great adventure of Viet Nam and joined the Marine Corps, arriving in Boot Camp in September 1969. I graduated as a Squad Leader, PFC, second man in the platoon. Trained as an infantryman, exactly what I wanted to do, before leaving for VN I was selected to become a RECON Marine, a decision that most likely saved my life. While serving in Viet Nam I worked my way to Patrol Leader and then to NCOIC of the COC, (Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge of the Combat Operation Center).
Back home in the USA I was released from active duty and returned to DVC with a new view of school and a different way of studying. Deborah Jones (Toohey) and I were married on September 27th, 1969, both of us going to school and working full time. I graduated from Cal State Hayward in March,’74, with a BS in Business Management.
Our son Ryan Daniels Toohey was born May 25th 1974, our daughter, Monica Lynn Toohey was born April 17th 1977. In 1989 we moved from San Ramon to Loomis, CA, because of the outstanding schools there, a move we have celebrated ever since. Loomis is a small town much like Walnut Creek was back in the fifties.
My career was sales of industrial products (business to business), ending my working days with my own business, Commercial Embroidery Systems, in Sacramento, CA. Retiring in 2010, Deborah and I both have small businesses that we use to keep active and keep the creative juices going. I do volunteer work with “The Forgotten Soldier Program,” in Auburn, CA and our church. Additionally, we are spending our free time remodeling our home and enjoying our life together with our children and grandchildren, who live within 10 minutes of our home.
We will be returning from a lifelong dream of a trip to Ireland (the “Old Country”), in early September, just before our reunion. I am excited to see old friends and meet new ones at the reunion.