Chuck & Lucila Dapiaoen: Still putting trust in hard work

Since he came to America from the Philippines at 20 and followed his father and his grandfather into the U.S. military, Chuck Dapiaoen has always believed hard work will be rewarded here.

His 3,500-square-foot home in east Everett is immaculate, a testament to his family's success.

Chuck served 21 years in the Navy as a marine engineer and chief petty officer. All of his family is here; now 51, he has never been back to the land of his birth.

His wife, Lucila — Luz to those who know her — came to the United States in 1980 and has always worked.

In 1995, after Chuck retired from the military, he and Luz both went to work at Boeing, installing electrical-wire bundles in widebody jets. In less than six months, Chuck was promoted to production manager.

The couple recounted their life together, in a bright, spotless downstairs den with a leather sofa, a big flat-screen TV and a computer desk used by Chuck and their American-born children.

"Through the years, we did pretty good," Chuck said with modest understatement. "We achieved a little of those American dreams."

In 2001, with Chuck's $18,000 Navy retirement included, the couple's joint tax return showed a gross income of $140,670.

At the end of that year, they were both laid off on the same day.

In 2004, their joint income, still padded by the Navy pension, was $46,995.

Plummeting income

After the layoffs, Luz, 50, retrained as a pharmacist's assistant at Eton Technical Institute in Everett. Then she devoted herself to taking care of her elderly mother.

Chuck completed a house remodel they had already started. After 18 months of unemployment, in 2003, he worked for half a year selling mortgages to veterans.

There was no getting away from the severe drop in income. The couple withdrew more than $25,000 accumulated over five years in a Boeing savings program.

"I cut down on things, especially shopping," Luz said. "I clean the house instead of walking the mall."

Though their daughter and their eldest son are working, they aren't expected to contribute to the household income because, Chuck said, Filipino culture requires that parents provide for the children.

The family has thrifty instincts and limited expenses: a low mortgage, no car payments. Though their income has been slashed, they have enough to get by.

Starting over

Last May, Chuck developed a plan to start over.

He took what he calls a "starter job for young guys" with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), handling mail at the Tukwila distribution center. Though he's fit and muscular, the job is physically demanding. It pays less than $30,000.

He took it for one reason: With his drive and work ethic, he hopes to fast-track himself into a salaried position.

"It's the only way to get into management with USPS," he said. "You have to start at the bottom."

Ever since he got in the door, he's been asking his supervisors how to move up. Even before completing a 90-day probation period, he applied for open positions and started the required tests and interviews.

"There's a lot of opportunity to grow," Chuck said. "It's the way I felt and thought when I first joined Boeing."

Abiding ethos

Chuck is still waiting for feedback on his applications.

Over Christmas, Luz took a temporary job with the USPS in Everett, at $11 an hour. In January, the job was extended by six months.

She's still looking for work as a pharmacy assistant. Her sister, who also worked at Boeing, has been rehired — kindling hope that Luz might be recalled, too.

Chuck and Luz seek to instill in their children an old-fashioned immigrant ethos, mixing the close bonds of family and culture with a tremendous drive to succeed.

"Sometimes they don't understand," Chuck said, "because they didn't come from that."

Yet his own faith in America remains undimmed.

"I still maintain the same attitude of hard work and great aspirations, because this country always offers you the best," Chuck said. "The only fear I have right now is, I'm not as young to be constantly pursuing that American Dream."