Elizabeth S Wiles

Elizabeth S. Wiles, debuting life on December 20, 1912, peacefully stepped into Life everlasting July 28, 2014, forever joining her father William M. Shackelford, mother Mary Elizabeth Shackelford, brother William Howard Shackelford, and husband Paul Leland Wiles.

Elizabeth and Paul met in Rittman, Ohio marrying November 15, 1942. Together for 58 years, farming south of Burbank, Ohio, nurturing lambs in the kitchen when deserted by the ewes; gardening on their small acreage north of Lodi, Ohio companioning dogs named Mack and Miss Piggy a reclusive cat, tending ponies named Ginger, Pepper and Caraway and a small flock of sheep. Beginning in 1982, they celebrated two grandson’s company and laughter.

Studying at Rittman High School, she sang in the glee club and played tennis. Teaching her son to score tennis, she wryly quipped, “Remember, love is nothing.” A distinction of hers was being the last known surviving graduate of 25 students in the class of 1929.

She was a Girl Scout, past member of the Creston Presbyterian Church (formally Jackson Presbyterian Church), and an officer (Ada) of Eastern Star Chapter 102.

Pink was her primary color. Pink china adorned her table. She wore a pink suit and in the 1960’s drove a pink Rambler station wagon, a comfortable, modern car compared to the International trucks and Hudson previously owned.

Between the years working for the soy plant in Wooster, Ohio and retiring from Leslie, Locke at Lodi, Elizabeth was, before the moniker was made remarkable, a stay at home mom. In her home, the hardwood floors were preserved by spreading paste wax on the surface, both mother and son donning a double pair of wool socks, and sliding across the room until the wood shined. She made cooking look easy. Her salads were depression survivalist, endive picked from the yard. Thanksgiving turkey and dressing were moist and delicious as well as her homemade desserts. For her only child Ellis, she baked a scratch crust, pumpkin pie every week for a year. Summer was her season to can and make preserves, tallying the day’s yield in groups of five with stubby grease pencil on the side of the icebox.

Her tribute to fathers was written on Father’s Day 2003. In part writing: “I am thinking about fathers I have known. My father – didn’t really appreciate him. Your father – how I miss him. My brother as a father – really a good man.”

Mother’s Day was every day.

Friends and both sides of the family gathered at Schlup-Pucak Funeral Home for a remembrance, meeting others only known by name, and hearing about her past. Laughter and conversation filled the room. Mom would have smiled. She was the only one in the room representing the Greatest Generation. Sue thank you for thoughtfully framing choice family pictures. Thank you all.

Thanks to the caregivers whose dedication kept her warm and safe.

Miriam Wiles and Betty Karwan are surviving sisters-in-law. Both attended Elizabeth's wedding.

Geoffrey and Nathaniel Wiles, Granny’s grandsons, lovingly remember "trash" in the coconut custard and “Bag”.

Granny gave Natalie and Ellis Wiles years of what is known in tennis as nothing, the outcome was always: advantage kids.