Son of an Army Medical Officer, Jock lived in many locations in his childhood, including Washington, DC, and the Philippines. He graduated from high school in Boulder, Colorado and earned a degree in Forest Management from Colorado State University. He married Dee Henderson in 1950, and together they raised three children who now work in Arizona and Washington State as a middle school teacher, architect, and city manager. Jock and Dee have 6 grandchildren.

In 1951 Jock and Dee came to Taos, where Jock took a forester job with Pot Creek Logging and Lumber Company. In its heyday during the 1950s, Pot Creek was the largest employer in Taos County. Jock’s work for Pot Creek was interrupted for 22 months while Jock served as a rifleman in Korea. When Pot Creek closed its doors in 1960, Jock was Logging Superintendent for the company. Next Jock worked as a forester for the United States Forest Service. His assignments included the Carson National Forest and the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona. After retiring from the Forest Service in 1974, Jock worked in the Taos Ski Valley as Lift Operations Manager until 1996.

Jock has a passion for simplicity and conservation. He tries to keep people on track in organizations and keep bureaucracy to a minimum. He also has several other passions that he has pursued his whole life: passions for skiing, for fishing, for hunting, and for photography.

Jock is a past member of the Society of American Forestry and served as a Scout Master. He is an active member of the Lions Club and the Holy Cross Hospital Foundation. Jock enjoys the Foundation because it makes a concrete effort to improve Holy Cross Hospital and to help people understand how hard it is to finance healthcare.