About The Authors
Mike and
Phyllis Foraker
David Michael Foraker and Phyllis Foraker are largely the product of hard-working blue-collar parents.
Phyllis spent her early years living with her mother, father, and three sisters in a small town in Andretta, Italy. Her parents raised vegetables and a few farm animals and worked wheat fields in the summer months. Phyllis and each of her three sisters were expected to come straight home from school and work with their parents to help put food on the table. Her mother baked bread weekly in a community oven located in the small Andretta Plaza. Phyllis and her family moved to New York in June of 1966 and then to Riverside, California, in 1974.
Mike spent his childhood growing up in Canon City, Colorado. He lived with his mother, father, two brothers, and two sisters. His mother raised a large garden and a few chickens and rabbits. His father was a carpenter. Mike and Phyllis grew up in different parts of the world with parents who had precious little discretionary money. Both grew up wearing hand-me-down clothes from older siblings and both were expected at a very early age to do whatever they could to earn a little extra money. Both developed excellent work habits at a very early age that served them well when raising their children.
In addition to excellent work ethics, each was raised with a keen understanding of the value of being part of a close-knit family. They were also raised to value certain characteristics, including honesty, integrity, and sincerity.
Mike and Phyllis welcomed William into their lives in September 1978. He was loved by both his parents and his two older brothers, Mark and John. Like all good parents, our wishes at the time of William’s birth were that each of our three children would have childhoods filled with good memories and healthy, prosperous adult lives.
