Page 70 - Life Legacy Project

The Power of Life
Donald Alan Tapley, age 54
“The same Hammer that shatters the glass forces the steel” is a quote that motivates Donald Alan Tapley (my grandpa) every day. He has lived 54 happy years and has gotten through life with happiness. He is an amazing person and that is why he should be honored here today.
Donald Alan Tapley was born in Everett, Washington and was named after his father. His nickname is DJ meaning Don Junior. When he was 4 years old he moved to New Jersey. Later in life, he moved from New Jersey back to Washington and has lived there since. When he was a child he was very active and played a lot of sports. He played Basketball, Baseball, and Football. When he wasn’t playing sports, he was with his friends and family. As he turned 14 he even wrote a paper about how his goal was to manage a car dealership at the age of 30 and work with his parents, which turned into reality. He managed a dealership until the age of 53 which is when he retired because the car business was really successful for him and our family. When he worked, he worked from 60-80 hours a week sometimes.
My Grandpa had two amazing kids with one of the most amazing people ever, my Grandma. One of the kids being my own mom and my uncle. The most amazing thing to him about being a father was watching his children grow up and get so see them have a family and kids that he is proud to call his grandkids. Then the most devastating things happened that impact his whole life and everyone in our family. My grandma who fought cancer for 5+ years past away. Through that long rough patch, he found out that life is too short and that we need to take time for ourselves and the ones we love. Now after all of those things happened an average day for him is waking up to the sunshine down in AZ, playing golf, and being with another amazing person named Renee. Through all of this, he is most thankful for his family and friends.
Donald Alan Tapley is special to me because he has always been there for me since the day I was born up until today and so forth. He has impacted my life so much through always telling me that to accomplish my dreams I have to work harder than the people next to me. I have learned that life is too short and that I need to do what makes me happy in life so in the future I don’t look back at this time and say I could have done that.
This is why Donald Alan Tapley is the person I am honoring for the Life Legacy project. I want to say “Thank you” to him for being the person he is and that I am very thankful to have him as a huge part of my life.
By Colby Arnold
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