The Silver Lining: How Values Triumph Over Circumstance

DALE C. STAPLETON and his twin brother, Don, were born in Covington, Kentucky in 1935 after their parents moved north from the eastern Kentucky mountains. Observing the attitudes and actions of Rose and Ova Stapleton during those very tough economic times caused Dale and Don to internalize the values of hard work, family pride, passion for and love of life, God's hand in the vicissitudes of existence, and personal accountability. Those values, learned very early in life, motivated the writing of this chronicle. Dale, Don, and Sylvia, Dale's wife of 62 years, graduated with the Holmes High School Class of 1953 in Covington. Dale earned the degree of Chemical Engineer from the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and later received the MBA degree from Colorado State University's Graduate School of Business. Dale's varied interests include sports, both as a participant and a fan. He played varsity tennis in High School and continued playing into his late 70s. He was a Cincinnati Reds baseball fan as a youth and remembers watching games from the cheap seats at Cincinnati's old Crosley Field. His Kentucky quail hunts with George Wilson, Sylvia's dad, offer additional cherished memories of the past. He also has an enduring memory of fly fishing with George on the San Juan River near Aztec, New Mexico where George and Dale simultaneously hooked two Brown Trout from the same hole on size 22 dry flies. As avid fans of Kentucky basketball, Sylvia and Dale have attended numerous NCAA Regional tournaments over the decades, proudly celebrating Kentucky's eight NCAA National Championships ('48, '49, '51, '58, '78, '96, '98, and 2012). In addition to science and technology, Dale has long had interests in history, theology, and human relations. Challenging personal life experiences intensified his innate interest in the complexities of the human condition. Those experiences and his relentless search for understanding are major elements of this memoir. He trusts that his reflections have worth and that the triumph of values over life's inevitable challenges is plainly demonstrated. He retired after more than four decades of engineering/management assignments in Kentucky, Ohio, and Colorado. After retirement in 1996, Sylvia and Dale moved to Western Colorado, where they now reside.