Ben Clevenger was born and raised in the Southwest.  He received the MD degree from the University of Oklahoma and specialized in pathology at George Washington University.  Dr. Clevenger served as a medical officer in the USAF before moving to North Carolina, where he practiced medicine.  Retired now, he lives with his wife in Arizona, where he enjoys hiking, writing, sailing, Southwestern history, and poking around old Spanish missions.  His interest in Father Kino dates to the late ‘eighties, when he first visited Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson.