Deacon Will Friese was born and raised in Chicago. He retired from the Air Force in 2003 as a Colonel with 30 years’ service. He had assignments in Russia, Bulgaria, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Japan, as well as several places within the U.S. Following his Air Force retirement, Dcn Will worked for Northrop Grumman for several years, then served as a Civil Servant for an additional 9 years, retiring again in 2014.
Deacon Will was ordained a Permanent Deacon in Jan, 2015, following a five-year formation program. He has received degrees from Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Chaminade universities, and he studied at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem in 2014. Dcn Will is married to Porntip (Lek) Friese; they have one daughter – Angeline (24).