Michael Jennings was raised and educated in Seattle, Washington, the fourth born of a large Catholic family of eleven children. He remained in Seattle until joining the Navy shortly after graduating from high school. After completing his naval service, he went to work for The Boeing Company while attending college part time. In 1971, he relocated to Denver, Colorado where he pursued his college degrees on a full-time basis-graduating from Loretto Heights College (now Regis University) in 1973 with two B.A. degrees (Behavioral Sciences & Sociology) and then on to the University of Colorado wher...