Stapleton (Leo) is born in Boston.

The son of Fire Chief John and Florence (McDonough) Stapleton, Leo Stapleton grows up on L Street, graduates from South Boston High School and serves in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Returning to Boston, he marries Doris White, who grew up on K Street in 1950, and joins the Boston Fire Department in 1951. Stapleton works his way up through the ranks of the department and becomes an expert in firefighting, and serves as Boston Fire Commissioner (1984-1991). He goes on to write 11 books about his life in a multi-generational family of firefighters. Stapleton dies in Weymouth on April 26, 2021.