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Welcome to the William & Deanna Davis family Homepage!
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I would like to introduce you to Willy (myself), Deanna (the wife), Chad and Kirk (The Boys), and share some of our chronological history.
I (Willy) grew up in Central Ohio. I was born in Columbus and attended Woodcrest Elementary School. I went to Yorktown Jr. High for 7th grade, and then our family moved to Pickerington. I then attended Pickerington Jr. High and graduated from Pickerington High School in 1975. I attended Reynoldsburg Baptist Church.
I enjoyed fishing and reading in my childhood. I participated very little in sports. I was on the Church softball team for a couple seasons and was on the track team one year. I was far and away the slowest person on the track team. I joined the High School wrestling team, and did OK but quit after a few days because of schedule conflicts with my job at Big Bear (the grocery store).
I have 2 brothers, Larry and Garry. They are twins, and they are 4 years younger than me. Larry works for American Airlines. His family lives in Arlington, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Garry is married to Sheri, works for Blue Cross, and lives in Baltimore.
I got my first motorcycle the day after my 18th birthday. It was a Kawasaki 750 (3 cylinder 2 stroke). Later on I had a few dirt bikes. A couple of ambulance rides and hospital visits was not enough to keep me off them. Once our children were on the way, I stopped riding on the street, hoping to watch the boys grow up.
After High School, I joined the US Navy and went into the Nuclear Power program to become an Electronics Technician and Reactor Operator. I attended Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Florida, and learned to Scuba Dive while there. I attended College Park Baptist Church and loved the people I met. I went to other schools near Chicago and near Idaho Falls. I was in Idaho for the winter of 77/78 and picked up Skiing. I skied every winter for the 20 years to follow. I have been to about 35 mountains, mostly in the Western United States, and a couple in New Zealand and Australia.
I was assigned to a new 688 class Fast Attack Submarine, the USS Omaha (SSN 692) which I boarded in Groton CT. A month after I stepped aboard, we brought the USS Omaha to it's home port, Pearl Harbor via the Panama Canal.
I met Deanna Goodrick on 16 Sep '78 in Hawaii, the day after the USS Omaha pulled into port. Deanna grew up in Kansas City, and had just moved to Hawaii with her family. She was attending Bible College at the time we met. Later she enrolled in the Dental Hygiene program at the University of Hawaii. We were married on the cliffs between the Halona blowhole and Hanauma Bay on 11 Jul 81. We honeymooned in Fiji, both islands of New Zealand, and the East coast of Australia. We attended International Baptist Church, and sometimes Faith Baptist in Kailua. Deanna got her Scuba certification in Hanauma Bay. Deanna loves to sing and sings well. While in Hawaii I surfed as much as I could, and often went Scuba Diving. In Spring of '82 I got out of the service and Deanna Graduated from U of H
During my Navy days and several years following, a big hobby of mine was Photography. I had a Nikon 35 mm and an underwater 35mm camera. I printed my pictures at home that were taken mostly on Kodachrome and some on color negatives. In the mid-90's I sold my fancy lenses and gave away my darkroom stuff. Today my photography just documents events with friends and family with a digital camera.
In 1982 we moved to Arroyo Grande, California. I was hired by Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in the Operations Dept, and eventually became a Reactor Operator, licensed in 1988 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 2001 I gave up my license, and was given a management position in the Nuclear Quality Services Dept. I worked in the Quality Dept. as an Auditor and later as a Cause Analyst.
Deanna works as a Dental Hygienist in San Luis Obispo.
Chad was born on 15 Jan 83, and Kirk was born on 2 Jul 84.
Two weeks after Kirk was born I had a Radial Keratotomy done to correct my very nearsighted vision. My good vision lasted until 2001 when I just started wearing reading glasses - the clock is catching up with me!
We attended Grace Bible Church in Arroyo Grande for several years and in 1995 switched to the New Life Church of the Nazarene in Pismo Beach. We are Bible believing Christians, and enjoy doing active things.
In 1998 we moved to Pismo Beach California, and moved back to Arroyo Grande in August of 2001, and then back to Pismo Beach in 2002, where we now reside.
I participate in Judo / Jiu-Jitsu, Volleyball, Surfing, Frisbee Football and Skiing on a regular basis. I like Scuba, a little windsurfing, and anything active really. I have very little experience in Baseball, Basketball, and Football, but I'll have fun in about any sport or game.
I have been active in 5 Cities Judo Club since November of '94 I received my Brown belt in November of '97 from Mario Rubio. Chad and I were given the rank of Blue belt, and Kirk was made Orange Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Rickson Gracie in 1999. On 5 Aug 2000, Kirk received his Blue Belt from Rickson's association. I competed several times per year until 2004.
We are proud to say that along with many of our Martial Arts friends, local law enforcement including Sheriffs, Police from Pismo and nearby cities, CHP, and local Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics Instructors come to sharpen their groundfighting skills with us on the mats in our garage.
In July of 2001 I started the Women's Jiu-Jitsu Academy. We had tremendous tournament success, as our girls have taken the gold at some of the women's opens at big tournaments. Katie won the women's Blue Belt World Championship in Rio, and Blair became a Virginia state champion. We have met on a regular basis since the summer of 2001.
We loved to travel and visit with other Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and Submission Grappling clubs wherever we are. We have trained with many of the Gracie Academies and submission wrestling schools and are thankful for the great contributions of time, patience and energy they have given to us. We have had great experiences with all of the clubs that we have visited.
Chad and Kirk have taken 1st place in California State Judo Championships, Kirk has also taken 1st in Freestyle Wrestling. They have taken 3rd and 2nd in Judo Nationals. They were both wrestling team captains and Chad was also Volleyball team captain.
Most of our time in the boys' High School years was devoted to Arroyo Grande High School Wrestling. Kirk ultimately took 2nd in California, and 7th in High School SR. Nationals. Deanna was in charge of the Stat girls. Many of our weekends were spent at wrestling tournaments.
Chad attended Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo for two years. Chad transferred to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in 2003 and is working toward a degree in Aero Engineering. He passed the FAA exam for his private pilot's license in December 2003. Chad works as a gymnastics instructor for Central Coast Gymnastics.
Willy's last day of work at the power plant was in June of 2004, quitting/retiring after almost 22 years, and now makes a living by watching investments.
Kirk was recruited to wrestle for Columbia University in New York City. He was their 184 and then 197 pound representative. His freshman season was cut a month short by appendicitis, but he was ranked in the twenties in Division 1! The rest of college wrestling years were plagued with injury. Kirk Graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor's degree in Economics. Kirk works as a recruiter at Columbia Technology Corporation. Kirk's office is on Wall street and he lives in Brooklyn.
We have had 4 exchange students from Japan and one from Brasil. We love all the exchange students that we have had, and all of their friends. We love to travel and often go with large groups of friends, family and co-workers. One or more of us have traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Philipines, Hong Kong, Guam, Fiji, Japan, Hawaii, all over the USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Brasil, Argentina, Bolivia, Haiti, Curacao, Paraguay, Spain, England, and France.
