Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
Loading
DC![]()
author
DONALD F. CHMELKA
Donald F. Chmelka lived the American dream, beginning life on a
primitive Nebraska farm and
retiring 55 years later as a corporate president. He grew up without the luxuries of
electricity, teleph...view moreDonald F. Chmelka lived the American dream, beginning life on a
primitive Nebraska farm and
retiring 55 years later as a corporate president. He grew up without the luxuries of
electricity, telephone or indoor plumbing and began his education in a one-room
country school. Like his immigrant great-great-grandfather Matej, Don was
determined to find a better life and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the University
of Nebraska in 1963.
Don's professional career began
as a reliability engineer in the automotive industry and then with Martin
Marietta on America's
first anti-ballistic-missile program. He
joined the Sundstrand Corporation in 1967, and for the next 25 years he
traveled the world working on numerous commercial and military aircraft,
missiles, torpedoes and spacecraft. The Space Shuttle program brought him to Los
Angeles where he and his wife, Vikki, and their
Catholic parish sponsored a Buddhist family from Vietnam.
Don was impressed by the efforts of these refugees and began thinking of
writing a book concerning the motivations of American immigrants and the
technologies that made their journeys possible.
A hectic career and continued
education—including obtaining an MBA from Pepperdine
University—kept him from that task
until 1997 when he retired as president of a high-tech manufacturing company in
Wichita, Kansas. After 34 years of bouncing around the country
while rearing three children, Don and his wife settled in Escondido,
California and he began writing Matej's Journey to America. That book, which follows the Chmelka journey
through the notable events of history from biblical times to Matej's death in
1902, was published by 1st Books Library late 2002. Don then
completed the story of his family's journey through the past 100 years of world
history in Matej's Legacy.view less
Books by DONALD F. CHMELKA
Matej's Journey to America: The Driving Forces of Our Immigrant Ancestors Matej's Legacy: A Czech Family's Journey Through the 20Th Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings