About Us

Karlena was born in Farmington, NM, and lived the first ten years of her life on the Navaho Indian Reservation in Shiprock, NM. Her father was an Indian Trader and operated a Trading Post on the reservation. She is an identical twin. She and her twin sister were the first of six children. Her mother was a homemaker and like John, Karlena's parents were active members of the Church. Karlena has rich pioneer ancestry as well. Her great-great grandfather was Parley P. Pratt. Karlena attended Brigham Young University, where she completed her nursing degree. Later, she served in the Peru Lima Mission and, upon her return, eventually moved to Southern California, where she was working as an RN when she met John at Church.

As fate would have it, their bishop called John and Karlena to serve as co-chairs of the decorating committee for the ward's Christmas party. While working together on that committee, they began to enjoy each other's company. Once the party was over, with no other "official" reason to meet, they began to date. Shortly after, they decided to make "co-chairing" a permanent role. They were married in the Salt Lake City Temple and sealed for eternity on June 6, 1981. They've been "co-chairing" the committee to raise a family ever since.

John and Karlena began their lives together, living in Southern California while John continued his employment with the CIA. Their first son was born in Santa Monica, CA, and a year later, they transferred back to the Washington, DC, area. John made the CIA a career, serving undercover for 25 years before retiring. They raised their family primarily in Northern Virginia, although work assignments had them living in exotic places like Chicago, IL, and Frankfurt, Germany. Their family included three sons and a daughter, and they consider Northern Virginia their home.

After 25 years with the CIA, John retired in 2004 and was the recipient of the Agency's Career Intelligence Medal. Leveraging skills he developed while in government service, John started a security consulting company and acquired a handful of clients, which included the CIA, some industry entities, and a select group of high-net-worth families. He developed and delivered tailored operational and countermeasure security support, providing risk assessments and related security analysis to his client constituency, coordinating the secure shipment of high-valued property, conducting due diligence, verifying assets, and performing background verification services.

It was in 2008, while John was building the company, which had 65 employees, when John and Karlena received a call to preside over the California Fresno Mission. John immediately shifted his work responsibilities to others, and he and Karlena began to prepare for a wholly new and unexpected experience of a lifetime. They traveled cross-country, received four days of "firehouse" training in the 2008 Mission Leadership Seminar at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT, and arrived in Fresno, California, with "deer-in-headlight" to assume their role in this three-year assignment.

It was a great experience working with the local leadership of the eleven stakes throughout the mission and establishing eternal friendships. But the most incredible experience was the opportunity to work with and develop the love for 525 young men and women who had decided to serve a two-year/eighteen-month mission. Working with countless other senior missionaries and developing a passion for them added to this most remarkable opportunity. The experience is often described as a bi-polar experience because there were many "highs" and, admittedly, many "lows" during that three-year experience as John and Karlena worked with, prayed with, worried with, failed with, succeeded with, cried with, and mostly laughed with.

Serving as President and Sister Gonzalez of the California Fresno Mission was an experience never to be forgotten, and three years passed in the blink of an eye. It is incredible to John and Karlena that it has been more than ten years since they returned to "civilian" life. Having sold his company while in Fresno, the terms of which in the sale included a "non-compete" provision, John and Karlena were not sure what was in store. However, considered a blessing from heaven, upon their return to Northern Virginia, John accepted full-time employment with the Church, first as a Seminaries and Institutes coordinator in the Washington, DC, area and then working in the Missionary Department. The latter required John and Karlena to uproot and move to Salt Lake City. They closed the East Coast chapter of their lives in 2013, moved to Utah, and built a home in 2014. John thoroughly enjoyed his assignment in the Missionary Department. He worked with newly called mission leaders and visited missions throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Working under the direction of Area Presidencies, he helped mission leaders increase the effectiveness of their missionaries. The only downside to this new opportunity was that Karlena could only listen to John's experiences while on assignment after returning home.

After nine incredible years working in the Missionary Department, John left Church employment and "permanently" retired. This new chapter in their lives was not without challenges. It was difficult for John not to be engaged in the efforts of the Missionary Department, but he found various projects in which to engage. With John fully "retired," Karlena hoped to finally have someone with her at home during the day to be with. However, she often said, "John, you know, there's someone else in this house!" Karlena reminded John that he regularly had to disengage from his projects. John's projects included Family History research, writing and editing, co-hosting and editing a "Preach My Gospel Mission Prep" podcast, and going to magic conventions. John and Karlena were able to make the most of this, however, and enjoyed traveling to Germany, Italy, Switzerland, England, and twice to Mexico. They also traveled throughout the US, including trips to Hawaii.

When not traveling, John and Karlena keep busy. They are actively involved in their ward, where John serves as Elders Quorum president, and Karlena serves as an Activity Days Leader. They are also ordinance workers in the Draper Utah Temple, serving once a week. While they don't have an extensive progeny, it is enough to keep them busy grandparenting. Their oldest, Jason, is a pediatric dentist in Santa Fe, NM. He lives there with his wife and their four children. Their second, Jeffrey, alas, is still single but continues his acting career, hoping to find someday "regular" work. He has had modest success, starring in a couple of "A Crime to Remember" episodes and having bits parts in the television series "Walker: Independence" and "Big Sky." He also has a bit part in an upcoming movie, as yet to be titled, if he survives the cutting room edits. Kevin, their third son, is living with his wife and three children in Saratoga Springs, UT. He is the Director of Customer Success for a software company based out of California. Their fourth child, Kimberly, alas, is still single as well. She is in graduate school working to become a mental health counselor.

John continues to enjoy magic as a hobby. Karlena enjoys hiking and reading. Together, they enjoy traveling, visiting family, and spending their children's inheritance. They received a call to serve as executive secretary to the South America South Area Presidency. They will be leaving at the end of November 2023 for Buenos Aires, Argentina, for two years.