Michael and Esther Bench
Bio Michael (Mickey) Bench, ‘72 and Esther Bench (Ybarra), ‘71 Esther and I married in 1971, married still. We live near Esther studied ESL at Covell and became an elementary teacher, grades 5, 3, 1, and Kindergarten. She was solely a bilingual teacher until Esther retired this year (official last week), but she cannot stop working (our daughter, Lindsey, is attending undergrad school). Esther has already secured a new position at UC, After I left Covell, I taught high school English, then Special Ed for several years, then Administrator of a Special Ed School, then a Hospital Administrator. It was at this time as a hospital executive that I changed my name from Mickey to Michael, because I thought that Mickey sounded, well, Mickey Mouse. I did not enjoy the first half of my working life, so I studied to become a horticulturist (I guess, once a farmer, always a farmer). With this I designed landscapes and helped manage a landscape company. I am now a certified Arborist and have my own very small (me) consulting company. This second half has been and is very fun. Esther and I have 3 children. Jason, our oldest, died in a car accident at age 17. This event has altered us for the remainder of our lives. I miss him every day. Justin, our second, 29 years of age, has a M.S. degree from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Lindsey, our youngest, 24 years of age, is attending the All our kids were soccer players. This forced me to learn the game, which I did not understand while attending Covell. I became un “Arbitro” for about 25 years: league, high school, college, adult league, 1 semi-pro game. Pro players whine a lot. I now am a bagpiper, mostly for fun, occasionally for profit. Go to www.montereypipers.com and I’ll play a tune for you. Be well, always do good work, Mick and Esther |