And What About Harry's Paramour?

As Harry Stonecipher spoke strongly and confidently to a Naples, FL, civic organization on Friday, his wife, 69-year old Joan Stonecipher, was filing for divorce in Chicago -- less than a week after Stonecipher was ousted from the CEO position at Boeing in the wake of a scandalous sexual liaison with a Boeing vice president.

Mrs. Stonecipher cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for her six-page filing and demanded a "fair and reasonable sum" in alimony.

She described her husband as a man of "substantial wealth and income," according to local reports.

"I'm just as blown away by this as everybody else," she told the Chicago Tribune from the couple's home in St. Petersburg, FL. Then she hung up.

The affair that ended Harry Stonecipher's tenure as a married man, as well as his 50-year marriage, began in January, according to the Chicago paper. His paramour, Washington, DC, based Vice President Debra Peabody -- also married.

The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek Online both reported the romance began when Stonecipher and Peabody met during a company retreat at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, CA.

Now, Peabody, VP for Operations at Boeing's Washington lobbying office, is herself under investigation by the company. Investigators are looking over her travel records and the expenses charged to her company credit card.

While a lot of Boeing employees have wondered why Stonecipher was fired but Peabody continues to work for the aerospace giant, the fact is, she could still be fired.

FMI: www.boeing.com