Michael Rothhammer and Dolores Rothhammer-Ruiz

I was born at St. Francis Memorial Hospital on May 17, 1954 to Robert Charles Rothhammer and Gloria Lee Molloy. We initially lived in Daly City, but moved to San Mateo when I was 1. I attended Fiesta Gardens Elementary school in San Mateo from K-3, Chadbourne Avenue School in Millbrae (no longer exists) for 4-6, Taylor Intermediate School in Millbrae, and Mills High School, from where I graduated for 9-12. I entered the University of California, Santa Barbara on scholarship in 1972 and graduated in 1976. I received a B.A. in Economics and Sociology. After one year off to recover financially, I attended San Diego State University for a Master of Social Work degree, graduating in 1979. I was licensed as a clinical social worker in California in April 1982. I went back to school from 2004-2008, where I received a Master of Public Administration degree. My work history included 7 years working at State Developmental Centers as a clinical social worker, 1 year as a Social Service Worker V at the San Bernardino County Adoption Service (part of CPS), 2 concurrent years doing a part-time private practice. I worked for Riverside County Mental Health for 8.5years, first as a case manager with continuing community care, then as a therapist in crisis outpatient services for a total of 2.5 years. The final 5 years was supervising a program called Interagency Services for Families. I was the Director of Inpatient Psychiatry for the West/South Bay region with Permanente Medical Group for 7 years. I moved to Aptos CA and worked 5 years for Santa Cruz County Mental Health, first as a therapist and then supervising Crisis Outpatient Services. Due to the poor economy, I had my hours reduced and my wife was laid off, so we moved to Sacramento. I worked 1 year for Yolo County as the Adult Program Manager for Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health services. I then went to Napa State Hospital where I was a Program Director for 7 seven units with 249 forensically committed male and female patients. After 2.5 years, I was recruited to help activate a 1700 bed correctional treatment center in Stockton, known as the California Health Care Facility. Once the facility opened, I served as the Chief of Social Work. I retired in late November 2015. I worked a brief 8 month as a Mental Health Services Manager II for Monterey County children's mental health, but left for personal reasons, spending half of each of the next 4 years living in Oregon. In March 2023 I began a virtual private psychotherapy practice 6-10 hours per week, which at writing, I continue to do. I have also worked as an examiner for the Board of Behavioral Sciences for over 10 years in administering the oral licensing exam. I also worked half time for one year with Heartland Home Health, before the company went out of business. I married Dawn Alicia in April 1988 and finalized our divorce in September 2014, for a total of 26 years. We had two children, Aaron Sea in 1993 and Daniel Sky in 1998. Aaron passed away in October 2014 from septic shock due to a ruptured gall bladder. Daniel currently lives in San Juan Bautista CA. My children's mother lives in a townhouse in Sacramento CA, where she has been for 9 years, and I have lived back in Aptos for 10 years. Both homes are owned.
My mother, Gloria Lee Molloy gave birth to me at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco in 1954. I entered the world with one brother, Michael James Rothhammer from a prior relationship she was in. We lived in San Mateo together for 8 years. My father abandoned ship and my mother died one year later in August 1963. My brother Michael has worked mostly in education, mostly retired as an elementary school principal, but working an average of 1 day per week. He has two amazing children, Ana Michelle and Paul Michael. They both live in Oakland. Sadly, he lost his wife Maria Dolores Ruiz in August 2024, but continues to live in their home in San Leandro. My father had a daughter, Ann Houston, by his first marriage. My sister has worked a variety of jobs, but finished her career working in special education for the Alameda County School District. We were not raised together .She lived with her mother Florence in the Sunset District of San Francisco. My ex-wife Dawn has a degree in Science and Mathematics and completed a 48 unit certificate program in Early Childhood Education. She graduated with honors. She worked during our time living in Half Moon Bay, Sacramento, Aptos, and Sacramento. Both of our sons were born with significant special needs. She continued to work with Aaron, but took a hiatus for 5 years to attend to the significant needs of our second son, as a stay at home mother. She has a love for and a gift in working with young children. All of her jobs were working at schools, but concurrently, due to her love of babies, she provided childcare in the Nursery for two churches on Sunday and when they had special events. To this day, children are just drawn to her. She stopped working in 2011 due to issues with diabetes. She had lived alone in her Sacramento home for 10 years, and more as a hobby sits for pets, both for my own family members and some of her neighbors. Both being orphans, we raised our children without the benefit of much support, other than my brother and wife watching our older son about one day per month, and some special friends that did likewise. Over a 20 year period, we never had a night away together other than 2 occasions, each from evening to morning. Given the heavy care needs of our sons, our home felt more like a treatment facility, with me taking the early evening to late night shift and my wife taking 3 AM until school time. She is a very kind, funny, and beautiful woman, but raising two special needs children takes a toll and makes it nearly impossible to sustain a relationship. To this day, I am not sure either of us will ever be the same after the challenges of our younger son and losing our older son at age 20, but we remain friends, talk regularly, text even more often, and get together a few times a year.