Shortly after Ace's birth, his father left his mother. At the age of 2 Ace was sent to live with his aunt and at the age of 4 she took him to his father in Salt Lake City. By the time Ace was 6 years old, his father returned him back to live with his mother and older sister by putting on a train, asking a man with a steel string guitar to watch over him on the way back to his mother. This was the first time Ace remembered seeing his mother. By the time World War II broke out, he was living in the state of Washington with his mother, sister and step-father, Ernie Long, who treated Ace like a son. It was here that he joined the Air Force with a desire to repair airplane engines. He was a very talented auto mechanic in Seattle and liked the work.
Upon joining the Air Force, Ace was sent to Australia to repair trucks that had been damaged in the war effort. He was stationed outside of Brisbane, Australia for three years - never picking up a rife or seeing any action. He enjoyed his time in the service.
After the war, Ace returned home to Seattle where his mother and family lived. It wasn't long before Ace saw a beautiful, young waitress in a local cafe who attracted his attention. At first she was not interested. Having been raised in the mid-west by a deeply religious mother, a "fly-boy" didn't measure up to her expectations. Ace didn't give up and continued sitting at her table at the cafe. She eventually accepted a date, which led to a wonderful marriage of 52 years, 2 months, and 28 days - and two beautiful children.
Right after marriage, the always-adventurous Ace went with his young bride and another couple to tour the United States in a beautiful, 1936 LaSalle automobile, working odd jobs along the way. While in Florida, his wife became pregnant so they decided to end the year-long honeymoon and drive back to Seattle, Washington to settle down.
There they purchased a home in Seattle, had two children, a boy and a girl, while Ace worked as an auto mechanic. At this time he met Clarence M. Wynn who was developing automobile engine additives and helped Clarence in the early stages of research and development. In 1956, Ace moved his family to Covina, California to continue working with Clarence, who had moved his business to Azusa, California and had named his new product, Dri-Power. For the next 25 years, Ace worked at several jobs, always within the automotive industry.
Ace was very social, loved to entertain, and was always the life of a party. His grandchildren adored him and laughed and laughed at his antics. His greatest joy in life was being with his wife, children, and grandchildren. He was a very wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. At the end of his life, he went into the hospital for a simple procedure to increase blood flow to his feet. The operation was successful and he was scheduled to be released to go home the next day, where his family had prepared a birthday party for his 82nd birthday. He passed away peacefully in his sleep at the hospital, the day before his 82nd birthday, probably of a blood clot.
In spite of a difficult beginning, Ace was always very loving, faithful, and loyal. He is greatly missed and loved by his family and friends.