Peter Sipla was born in the Chicago suburb of Warrenville, to Emil Thomas (Tom) Sipla, and Maritza Natalia (Wong) Sipla. On his grandfather's side, the Sipla clan is from the Bohemian/Czech neighborhoods in central Wisconsin. On his grandmother's side, the Stafford family are of British and Dutch descent, and have been in Warrenville since 1858, when Dorus Stafford was the local leather tanner. Peter's great-uncle William T. (Bill) Stafford became the newly incorporated city's first Mayor, in 1967. Civic duty and service was a part of Peter's upbringing, coming from a family of firemen,...
