Every day, the proud men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces protect our freedoms, and among those serving the nation are two brothers from a local Royal Palm Beach family.
The quiet south end of the original Village of Royal Palm Beach overlooks the water and has long been home to Scott and Teri Stocking and their sons, Luke, Daniel and John.
Teri attributes her young family becoming the men they are to their hard-driving father, instilling responsibility and commitment to stepping up and to getting the job done, while working construction together many summers, weekends and holidays. This solid family foundation, commitment to integrity and love, combined with what the boys have mentioned as their favorite, many servings of their mom’s “flat chicken” with buttery parmesan egg noodles, seem to be their recipe for success.
While all of the Stocking boys began their educations at Royal Palm Beach’s Cypress Trails Elementary School, each would continue at Saint Juliana Catholic School and Cardinal Newman High School.
The eldest brother, Luke, graduated from the Rinker School of Construction at the University of Florida in 2008 and followed his father’s lead into the construction industry. He continues to be a successful developer, happily married and currently residing near Nashville, Tennessee, raising three daughters.
Middle son Daniel was active in Royal Palm Beach youth recreation programs, playing basketball and baseball. In high school, he ran cross country and track & field for the Crusaders, competing in the one-mile and two-mile events, qualifying for the state finals as a junior. He went on to graduate from Florida State University in 2012, cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in English, with minors in business administration, marketing and philosophy. Daniel then returned to Royal Palm Beach, completing his teaching certification at Palm Beach State College. In 2013, he began an international journey, teaching English to children in Taiwan, Madrid and Vietnam.
After several years of teaching, international travel and experiencing events such as the pandemic, Daniel was seeking bigger challenges. His uncle, Joe Stocking, retired from the U.S. Navy, directed him toward his next challenge — a quest with a higher purpose, with the ability to overcome adversity and lead with strength.
Daniel answered the call and enlisted in Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, graduating a surface war officer (SWO), finishing first in his class. He was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in August 2022 as an ENS-01. His first orders and assignment were to the Arleigh Burke Destroyer Class (DDG-51), U.S. Naval Station Rota, Spain, where he is serving today. He also recently completed a 26-mile marathon in Ciudad Real, Spain, with a time of 4 hours, 7 seconds.
When asked what the most challenging part of military life has been, Daniel responded by saying, “Getting consistent sleep!” The most rewarding experience so far has been, “Being up on the bridge, in the middle of the night, on the open ocean, underneath an endless canopy of stars, knowing that my bridge teammates and I are keeping everyone inside the skin of the ship safe, as we steam to our next destination.”
John, the youngest of the three brothers, also enjoyed several years with the Royal Palm Beach youth recreation programs playing baseball, and his passion, basketball. At 6-foot-4, he excelled at basketball, starting all four years with the Crusaders. John then graduated from Florida State University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. His goal is to become a physician’s assistant (PA). He returned to Royal Palm Beach, attended Palm Beach State College and became certified as an emergency medical technician (EMT).
John worked two years with American Medical Response (AMR) in Palm Beach County, before moving to Colorado to continue working as an EMT in 2018. Faced with the challenges of PA school admissions, his uncle Joe Stocking outlined an alternative path for him to serve his country while pursuing his PA dream.
Like his brother, John enlisted in Officer Candidate School in Newport, graduating a surface war officer (SWO) and was commissioned into the United States Navy in December 2021 as an ENS-01. His orders have taken him to San Diego, assigned to a ship that was under construction, the Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee Destroyer Class (DDG-123). John is a “plank holder” on this ship, which was commissioned in Key West on May 13, 2023.
Having entered Officer Candidate School six months prior to Daniel, younger brother John attributes his shared training experiences to his older brother’s top class ranking, to which he simply states, “You’re welcome brother.”
