Eugene “Rocky” Sheldon Staples

March 29, 1922 – October 4, 2013

Eugene Sheldon “Rocky” Staples, 91, was a World War II Marine fighter pilot, a survivor of the bombing of USS Franklin, and later a United States diplomat. He left his railroad and farming family in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1943 to become a Marine Corps aviator. Flying Corsairs in the Pacific, his combat missions ended on March 19, 1945, when a Japanese dive bomber attacked USS Franklin off Kyushu.

Rocky later devoted his career to international service. Family and friends remembered him as a stalwart optimist who believed the world could be changed for the better. He died at his home in Snug Harbor, Rhode Island, surrounded by family.

Published by Avery-Storti Funeral Home & Crematory. See more at: https://www.averystortifuneralhome.com/obituaries/Eugene-Rocky-Staples?obId=12469568