John Shewmaker was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky on June 7, 1935. He was raised as a Disciple of Christ, attended Harrodsburg High School and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1957. He converted to Catholicism in 1956 and married Monica Sullivan on June 12, 1957. He served twenty years in the Navy. He received a Master of Science degree from the Naval Postgraduate School and an Engineering Degree (all requirements for PhD except the dissertation) in Operations Research. He also commanded a destroyer and provided force level analysis to the Navy, CIA and the Department of Defense. The family moved to Bethesda in 1967 and his children, Paul, Pamela and Tracey attended Our Lady of Lourdes School. John and Monica taught CCD and pre-Cana in the 70's and John was a lector for many years. After retiring from the Navy in 1977, he worked for the Congressional Budget Office, the Energy Information Administration, and the MAXIMA Corporation before retiring a second time in 1994 and becoming an independent consultant. He was ordained as a deacon in 1990. John and Monica have four grandchildren.