John was born and raised in Indiana, majored in political science at IU, law degree from Georgetown, joined a firm in their Chicago office. After a few years there he accepted an offer from a different firm and moved his securities practice to their San Francisco office. Not long after arriving he and Jan met at a recruiting function at Stanford. Jan, a labor attorney, worked in the Oakland office of a firm with a long-standing tie to the Bay Area. She had grown up in Berkeley, undergrad psychology at U.C. Santa Barbara, law degree at Cal.
A year after meeting, John proposed, Jan accepted, they married, moved into Jan's house in the Oakland Hills. John ended his lease in The City. Three years later, Barbara was born. Just before Jan's paternity leave was up, John made partner and Jan decided she wanted to stay home to raise Barbara. They sold her house and bought in Mill Valley, where Barbara grew up. When John retired he and Jan moved to Paso Robles to be nearer Barbara and Chloe in San Luis Obispo.
John's sister Hannah and her husband Carl live in Asheville, North Carolina, parents to Barbara's cousins Paul and Gwen.
Jan's brother Bob and his partner Jack live on their houseboat in Sausalito.