JOHN PRELGOVISK is just about as nice a lad as has come this way in a long time. He has been quiet and unobtrusive in the pursuit of his academic work, a fact which has contributed much to his success as a student. Johnny is a good athlete and has played a lot of baseball for both Bapst and the C.Y.O., with the ability to scoop up grounders like a pro. Although Johnny is uncertain about his future, he is seriously considering attending some professional school.

Born: John Allen Quigley; 24 Dec 1934, Houlton, Maine

1941 - Houlton, ME. Adopted by Stan Prelgovisk after he married my widowed mother.

1953 - Joined US Marine Corps upon graduation from John Bapst; after Boot Camp attended Aerial Photographic courses Pensacola, FL. Met and married Patricia Long of Cleveland, Ohio, 1954.

We had four children: Steven, Kevin, Dana & Kristina. We divorced in 1974; Pat later passed away in 1990 of lung cancer.

I remarried 1979 to Susan Fisher.

1957 - Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, NC. Attended ABC School (Atomic Biological & Chemical Warfare). Participated in Atomic Bomb Drops in Nevada; Hood, Diablo and Princess. Hood was the largest Atomic Weapon ever exploded in the US - 74 + Kilotons - and it was a dirty bomb ... high levels of radiation. I was part of a monitoring team checking ground zero radiation on personnel and equipment; after climbing out of the trench I was "hunkered" down in, immediately after the blast.

1958 to 1966 - Assigned to photographic duties that involved Photo Journalism, Aerial Reconnaissance and Motion Picture coverage of events from blasé to Top Secret that took me to North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Panama Canal Zone and Japan (where missions were flown to locate Russian Submarines).

1966 - Beaufort, SC. After 13 years in the Marine Corps, and holding the rank of Staff Sergeant, I was selected as a Limited Duty Officer and promoted to 2nd Lieutenant (Limited Duty dictated that I stay in my military specialty fields - Photographic and Electronics); transferred to Quantico, VA, where I became the Officer in Charge of the Motion Picture Film Archives for the Marine Corps.

1968 - Received orders to Vietnam as the Officer In Charge 1st Marine Division Combat Photographic Group.

1969 - Selected to attend the University of Southern California as a special student @ the School of Cinema. Subsequent military transfer orders left me 16 units shy of degree in two years of fall, winter, spring, summer semester studies.

Navy Commendation Medal, w/Combat "V". presented at USC,
for services as Combat Photographic Officer,
1st Marine Division, Vietnam

1971 - Officer in Charge, Marine Corps West Coast Motion Picture Unit, Camp Pendleton, CA.

June 1953 to July 1973

1973 - Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA. Retired as a Marine Captain. Future selection for Major was just around the corner; highest rank I was allowed was Lt. Colonel... After 20 years ... time to try something else.

1973 - Cerritos, CA. Became an Industrial Printing Camera Person (Photographed / copied artwork for magazines), then a 4 color stripper (light table combining art elements for pre-press), then into sales for a printing company out of San Francisco. While working for Tower Records in Hollywood, my kids frequently told their friends that their dad was a stripper in Hollywood ;-).

Civilian hair style opted for after
20 years of military regulations

1978 - Oceanside, CA. Susan Fisher came into my life ... Supported - literally - my desire to finish studies at USC ... It all came true January 1979. Those twice a week 0430 wake up calls and 2 hour drive, up and back, to Los Angeles in a 1968 VW bus ... WITH NO HEATER ... for class, will never diminish in my mind!

1983 to present - Sold our worldly possessions; stored some things I could not do without, aptly named "John's Junk" by Susan and opted for a life of road travel, we became full time RV'ers ... Still are!

1998 - Computer craze caught me between projects ... Called upon past expertise of electronics, photography and printing and applied it to website design for over 17 clients wanting to establish a presence on the Internet ... SeatoShiningSea.com was born ... The rest, as they say, is history!

In 2008 retired SeaToShiningSea.com/, but still retained the rights,and opted for JPrel.com/
I can be reached by email at
john@jprel.com