The death of President John F. Kennedy changed my career direction. After the Harvard Business School, I was hired to be the assistant to the partner of land planning and economic analysis for the architectural firm of John Carl Warnecke & Associates in San Francisco. As a future land developer with my family, I felt this would be a good experience and add to my knowledge.
But within three weeks of joining the firm, President Kennedy was assassinated. Five days later, I was in Washington, D.C. as the assistant to John Carl Warnecke, the chosen architect for the “final resting place” for the president. It was a fascinating assignment, a real participation in the history of the country, and a chance to witness some of the great operatives in our government at that time.