After graduating from the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery in 1980 I intended to pursue pediatrics but in the first month of internship I discovered pathology and was hooked! Soon after internship, a pathology residency ensued where I was introduced to forensic pathology at the Office of the Medical Examiner in Detroit, Michigan. A formal fellowship at the office ensued in 1987, and so began my career as a pathologist practicing anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, and forensic pathology. My practice took me from Michigan to Colorado, and to Montana where I served as the Chief Medical Examiner for the state until retiring in May 2022.