They were as eclectic as their projects

Dayna & Kevin

Before Dayna got her Masters Degree, she spent a lot of time searching for Renaissance. Like many of us, she searched for her place in life while tasting careers that some women wouldn't attempt.

She worked in the oil fields of Texas and then opened a bar. She had relationships, a child, and hard times along with the good ones. She grew up in Los Angeles California when it was cool to be in the city. The 60s saw times at the beach, friends from school and sun even in the winter months.

She finally settled in Las Cruces New Mexico and attended New Mexico State University. She was mentored in Anthropology by Dr. Wenda Trevathan and Dr. Ed Staski. During her time in college, her grade point average was high and she cared for her terminally ill mother. She obtained her Bachelors Degree and completed the course work for her Masters Degree before she and Kevin met.

Dayna met Kevin on America Online in early 1994. Kevin, being a risk taker at the time and having to make some changes, decided to move to New Mexico to start a relationship with Dayna. The first year saw Dayna and Kevin at odds with each other but ultimately, they settled down

Dayna's department chair for her Masters Thesis was Wenda Trevathan and she defended her thesis in order to get her degree. After she got her diploma, she went to work as a staff Archaeologist for the Department of the Army, Ft. Bliss Texas. There, she was the liaison between the Army and the German Detachment during their annual exercise "Roving Sands." The hours were long but she enjoyed the week of watching and participating in the war games and gained the respect of the German detachment.

She was plagued with illness starting in 1998 when she had intestinal trouble requiring a prolonged recovery which she didn't take. Shortly after she started getting back on her feet, her father suffered a stroke and it was back to taking care of a family member once more.

Six months after her father passed away, Kevin suffered a series of heart attacks in the early morning hours of January 2001. Both of their lives were changed forever due to the events of illness and having to change careers which she did.

Dayna's favorite job was that of "Nana" to the grandchildren. She loved playing Legos, baking cookies and listening to the words from the grand kids. She took her grand daughter to the petting zoo, shopping with her and taught her many things in order to shape her childhood. Dayna and Kevin talked about taking their grand daughter to Niagara Falls on a trip during the summer of 2012 but that never came to fruition.

She went to work as a high school science teacher and brought her wealth of knowledge to the classroom in a school that was considered 'at risk.' Her schedule slowed a bit but not enough because in the early morning hours of October 9. 2011, she passed away leaving a wealth of knowledge and comfort for those she knew.

Kevin is a traditional 'non confomist' when it comes to business, philosophy and getting things done.

If you couldn't convince Kevin about your vision, he'd smile, shake your hand and walk away. The projects he has taken on were vast and influenced many children in education from distance learning to television production. His start was small and mushroomed over the years to include a variety of different subjects.

Proficient in over 50 computer software applications, Kevin is Microsoft Certified in Office and Windows. His career started with teaching computer software packages and computer construction in the trenches of the Detroit Michigan auto plants. He created customized education programs for physically/mentally challenged and for private industry.

He started his company in the 1990s to cater to educational facilities in need of hardware and software training. All the work done by his "Wizzard Enterprises" was done for not for profit entities. His personal consulting operations were done under his own name which kept him very busy.

Kevin has written eleven books on computer software and a couple of fictional books. Everything Kevin creates is done without outside influence because he believes that once he gives his word, it will be honored regardless of overruns or cost. This sometimes meant midnight trips to the copy center until he bought his first copy machine.

His motto: "from conception to completion" kept him awake nights while he taught and did consulting during the day. He and Dayna made a formitable pair because she was the only one able to slow him down. Often times, you would see both of them at meetings, listening to people discuss their visions while looking to Kevin to make that vision a reality.

If you ask anyone what would make them cringe, it would be Kevin, sitting in his chair or coming from someplace uttering the words "ya know, I've been thinking." He can sit and listen to something for a few minutes and outline a plan within that timeframe. His last project, a pagan school where Dayna could teach without the politics and problems of a public schools sytem was well under development. When she passed away, the plans were put away with him vowing that he would never return to that project.

Today, he writes, creates and restores graphic images and lives quietly in his suburban Las Vegas home.