R. Michael Triplett died suddenly at home March 1, 2021. He was born Oct. 23, 1951, to Normal and Mildred Taylor Triplett in Dayton, Ohio. As there were several uncles and cousins named “Robert” and “Bob,” he was known in the family as Michael — his wife, Thaddene Triplett, didn’t even know his first name was “Robert” until several months after they started dating. He grew up in Fairborn and graduated from Fairborn High School in 1969. He was a Millwright at Inland Manufacturing-GM — later Delphi Products — in Vandalia and a crane safety trainer until his retirement in 2001. He attended Wilmington College, then used his GM Education Benefit to attend Shimer College, a Great Books program in Mt. Carroll, Ill., where he and Thaddene met. He then attended Wright State University, where he earned his BA in social and industrial communications, minoring in classics, in 1991, and later earned his master’s degree in human resources counseling. He pursued a course of study in pastoral ministry at University of Dayton with the goal of becoming a deacon. He even gave a try at nursing school.