(Hank) Moorehouse 1934 – 2011 - The Society of American Magicians

JON DORENBOS must be one of the luckiest guys in the
world. He’s the long snapper for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.
He’s a magician who performs at some of the best A-list charity
functions. He is a motivational speaker who presents programs
for varied groups from Fortune 500 companies to high schools
all over the country. He is a television personality, often hosting
feature segments on a number of different shows. He’s a partner
in a successful framing business. He has a lovely and talented
wife. He’s got it all…but it wasn’t always like this. Jon has a
unique story to tell about his life and how he got to this point.
He was born in Humble, Texas, in 1980. His family moved
around a lot when he was a kid, finally ending up in Woodinville,
Washington, just outside of Seattle, when Jon was six
years old. His dad worked for Microsoft, but he later moved over
to a new startup company called Oracle. His family was like
the Brady Bunch. His mom was a housewife who did volunteer
work and ran the book club at Cottage Lake Elementary. Jon has
a sister who is three years older than him and a brother who is
six years older. Everyone in the neighborhood knew and liked
the Dorenbos family. Jon was really into sports, and as a kid he
played baseball, basketball, soccer, and football.
On August 2, 1992, at the age of twelve, he was playing
40 M-U-M Magazine
football across the street from his house. The dinner bell rang
and he went home. His dad told him that his mom went for
a walk with a friend. They ate dinner, hung out, and played
chess for a while. The next morning, when Jon went to baseball
camp, his dad told him that his mom had gone to the sports
club to swim. That afternoon, friends of the family arrived at
the baseball camp and told Jon that there had been an accident
and he needed to go with them to the police station. He arrived
at the police station, but they wouldn’t tell him what happened.
An officer who knew him through the DARE program at his
school asked them to let him be the one who broke the news.
When he arrived, he told Jon that his mom and dad had had
an argument, he pushed her down the stairs, and she died. His
dad was being held in jail for questioning. His father pleaded
temporary insanity and eventually was convicted of seconddegree
murder and sentenced to thirteen and a half years in
prison.
After his father’s trial, Jon and his sister moved in with
Kathy and Don Robson, who became their temporary foster
parents. His brother was eighteen and chose not to go with them.
Jon and his sister were sent to therapy. The therapist decided to
use experiential therapy and confront the entire situation head