Darrel graduated from the University of Nebraska and joined the Peace Corps twice. First serving in the Dominican Republic and then in Ecuador where he met his wife Isabel. He later joined the American Red Cross and served in Vietnam, Hawaii, Michigan and Washington, D.C. In 1979 he transfered to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in Geneva Switzerland where he worked for 23 years serving as International Disaster Rellief Officer visiting and working in 60 countries worldwide. He was know internationally as an expert in Disaster Releif Operations and lectured in many world capitols. He was two children, Danilo and Maria and retired in 2000. He returned to Nebraska and now lives in Lincoln.