Ralph Lyndon Stiles

Dad was born on June 9, 1926 and grew up in Moville, a small town in far western Iowa. He was a child of the Great Depression, growing up poor. Like many who grew up during that era, his fear of financial insecurity drove many of his decisions throughout his life. It also was a prime motivator. He was determined to succeed and provide financial security for himself and his family, despite lacking the resources for a college education.

He was a star player on his high school football team and most likely would have gone to college on an athletic scholarship had not World War II intervened. He graduated from high school at 17 and spent a year working in Sioux City, Iowa before joining the U.S. Navy. During that time in Sioux City, he worked as a radio repairman, on a construction crew at the Army airbase, and on a highway survey crew. During his high school years, he worked for a plumbing contractor in Moville.

Dad tried to enlist in a Navy flying corps program, but had to wait six months for an opening. In the interim, he was drafted. When he reported for induction in Minneapolis, he was fortunate to have a document that said he was waiting to enroll in the Navy program.

He was standing in a long line of inductees facing one officer from the army and another from the navy. As they approached the table, the army officer said to each inductee, “Army, Army, Army.” When it came to Dad’s turn, the officer again said, “Army.” But Dad said, “Wait, I have this paper. I’m supposed to be in the navy.” The army officer looked at it and said the to navy officer, “Do you want this guy in the navy?” He answered, “OK, we’ll take him.” That’s how close Dad came to going to Europe for the Battle of the Bulge and to missing out on meeting his future wife.

Because of his background in experimenting with radios, working as a radio serviceman at Radio Ray’s in Sioux City, and teaching himself Morse code, Dad ended up serving as a radioman on a Martin Mariner PBM flying boat. He was stationed in Banana River Florida for training at what is now Patrick Space Force Base.

One day, when a scheduled training flight had been canceled, he had time off and went to the beach where he met a petite WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Her name was Claire Engstrom. They were married six weeks later and were happily married for the next 67 years. Dad always said that when he met Mom he knew she was the one and that he had to work fast. At first she thought he was too “pushy” but it didn’t take long for him to win her over.

The war ended just as he and his PBM crew were slated to fly to the Pacific Theater for the invasion of Japan. Since the Navy no longer needed his combat air crew, Dad was reassigned to San Diego, where he served with the Shore Patrol, the Navy military police. He and Mom lived in a small apartment in San Diego and their first child, Edward, was born at the navy hospital in Balboa Park.

When Dad was discharged from the Navy, he and Mom moved to Minneapolis. Dad and Mom’s father, Edward Engstrom, built two houses from the ground up in Fridley, a north-side suburb. At that time, this area was in the country. They had to hire a bulldozer to grade a road into the properties. Dad’s experiences in construction before the war and his work on these houses, provided him with skills that were later valuable in apartment management and home repairs. He could fix air conditioners and other appliances, lay and finish concrete, do all sorts of inside and outside construction, and could repair just about anything. The houses still stand today and are a tribute to their craftsmanship.

Dad went to work for the Burroughs Corp. in Minneapolis in 1947, starting out in the service department – again, because he was so handy at repairing things. After about eight years in the service department he got a chance to transfer to sales. Eventually Burroughs, which was originally an office machines company, expanded into the computer business.

During that time, their second son, Bradford, was born in 1952.

In 1962, Dad was transferred to the Chicago region, where he became District Sales Promotion Manager, and, later, manager of a branch on Chicago’s south side. Mom and Dad eventually bought a house in Flossmoor, a south-side Chicago suburb, and completely renovated it.

Mom started having respiratory problems in the mid to late 1960s. Sacrificing more lucrative career opportunities, Dad eventually succeeded in securing a transfer to Tucson, Arizona in 1970. Doctors had recommended moving to the Southwestern desert as a better place for Mom’s health. Dad became the Burroughs Corp. branch manager in Tucson. He took early retirement in 1985 to launch a second career in property management. As Dad rose through various assignments in the company, he was the only person holding those kinds of positions who did not have a college degree. What he lacked in academic credentials, he replaced with determination and self-education during his career.

After moving to Tucson, Mom and Dad bought a house, which they upgraded. They then bought a four-unit apartment building, which they eventually sold to buy a 12-unit building. They renovated this building and Dad was involved in managing that property until his death. In 1972, they bought a townhouse in Skyline Country Club Estates, where they lived until Mom died in 2012. Dad continued living there after her death until he moved to Villa Hermosa assisted living facility in March 2023.

During those years in Tucson, they upgraded the apartments in their apartment building, doing all the repairs, painting and upgrades themselves. They also made many upgrades to their Skyline home, such as enclosing the porch, building cabinets in the master bathroom, etc. Despite the many hours devoted to improving their properties, Mom and Dad enjoyed an active social life that included dancing at the Elks Club. Dad loved to swing dance and we were all impressed when he cut the rug with his granddaughter at her wedding in 2009. Dad loved Big Band music.

After Mom died in 2012, Dad decided he would need to create a new life for himself despite never fully recovering emotionally from Mom’s death. He joined the Skyline Country Club, where he made many good friends. He was a fixture for many years at the Club’s Friday evening Happy Hours.

Between 2012 and 2016, he made several trips. He visited Mom’s sister and her husband in Minneapolis, made a couple of trips back to Moville and Sioux City, and visited his son, Brad, in northern Virginia where, among visiting the usual sights in Washington D.C. they made the rounds of most of the country clubs in the area. Dad also attended two New Years Eve celebrations at the Mount Vernon Country Club that featured Brad’s band as the musical entertainment, and where he enjoyed dancing with many of the female guests whose husbands did not dance. In 2015, he made a trip to Sequim, Washington for his brother’s 100th birthday celebration. He also flew to Fort Myers, Florida to visit one of his granddaughters.

Dad’s health failed during the last two weeks of 2022. He then spent two months in a rehab facility before moving to Villa Hermosa, where he lived until being transferred during his last few days to Peppi’s House, a TMC hospice facility. He died around noon on May 4, 2024.

(Scroll down to the very bottom of this page to see photos and tributes do Dad.)