Chester "Chet" Palaburn was a former boyfriend of Richard Castle's mother, Martha Rodgers. Although he had married after they separated, he apparently told his children and grandchildren about Martha after his wife's death, describing her as the great love of his life. After years apart, the two met again online after Alexis convinced her grandmother to set up a "MyFace" (the real social networking site's name is never mentioned) account, although Martha was originally reluctant to restart the relationship, given how much she had aged since the two last met. ("Kill the Messenger")