Ross Joplin was born in Amarillo, Texas to Howell and Katherine Joplin. His father was an Army Air Corps pilot. His grandfather, Julian Ruben Joplin, established the Levelland Grain Elevator in 1925. After graduating from Levelland High School in 1963, Ross attended Texas Tech, graduating with a degree in financial administration. He was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey for basic training and then to Fort Benning for officer candidate school. He became Second Lieutenant in May 19, 1969 and in January 1970 was sent to Chu Lai, Vietnam and assigned to the 196^th Light Infantry Brigade, Alpha Company as the XO. After being wounded in action, he returned to served as the Night Duty Officer and became the S3 Air. When Ross returned from Vietnam, he moved to Houston, Texas. There he worked as a superintendent for a builder and then began working for Aetna Life and Casualty. After working in financial services as a CLU, Chartered Life Underwriter, he left to run his own Quick Copy franchise. Ross married in 1971 and has two children.