I was born in Sophia, West Virginia on March 20, 1952. My father was Woodrow Clayborn Darnell, Sr. My mother is Ethel Irene McKinney Darnell. I attended Sophia Elementary School.

When I was 11, we moved to 109 Lincoln Street, Beckley, West Virginia where I attended Beckley Junior High School. I stayed in Beckley through my sophmore year at Woodrow Wilson High School. We then movied to Miami, Florida.

In Miami, I attended Miami Central High School. While going to school, I began working at the NOAA Physical Oceanography Lab on Virginia Key. I graduated from high school in 1970.

After high school, I attended Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, Illinois. I graduated with a BS in Mathematics in 1974.

After graduation, I continued working at the oceanography lab for a year. I was then hired by Univac, and moved to Eagan, Minnesota. I worked in the Univac field support group for five years. During this time, I worked on projects at the Massachusetts Department of Employment Security, Quill Office Supplies, ALCOA, Pacific Northwest Bell, and United Airlines.

After Univac, I worked at Walt Disney World in Florida for twelve years. While at Disney, I met Rebekah Henry. We married in 1984. Our son, Michael, was born in 1992.

In 1993, I left Disney and returned to Univac, which was now called Unisys. I worked first in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1998, I was transferred to Lansing, Michigan, where I now live.