LaMoyne Kay Stiles

LaMoyne Kay Stiles (Carriger) age 79, passed away on March 20, 2021 in Chandler, Arizona. She was born on December 4th, 1941 in Blackwell, Oklahoma to Thelma and Melvin Carriger. She grew up on a farm outside of the town of Blackwell where she spent her childhood milking cows, riding horses, driving tractors and learning life skills and values that served her well for the rest of her life. She went to elementary school in a one room schoolhouse with other children from the surrounding farms and attended Blackwell high school where she was active in the 4H Club, cheerleading and student council. From her humble background she had many significant accomplishments, but her most endearing legacy is her family followed by her positive impact on countless people through her wit, kindness, humor, enthusiasm and genuine and heartfelt love, empathy and compassion.

LaMoyne married Wes Stiles in 1959.They had their first child, Angela, in 1960 and their second, Mindy, in 1962. They moved their family to Virginia in 1962 after Wes graduated from college where he started his carrier in engineering while LaMoyne cared for their growing family while also being actively involved in the local community. They then relocated to Scottsdale Arizona in 1966 when Wes took a job at Motorola. While there, LaMoyne broadened her portfolio while improving upon herself by attending Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and earning an Associates of Arts Degree in Psychology in 1978. At SCC she stood out as a premier student and was recognized in several newspaper articles for her accomplishments. One remarked on her involvement in an innovative new electronic piano keyboard program where she helped blaze trails in an emerging media that is commonplace today. Another article headlined her dedication as, “Persistent student earns diploma” and that while an associate degree usually takes two years but instead took her nine. In that article, LaMoyne selflessly commented that she refused to take more than one class at a time because she felt she would be neglecting her family.

LaMoyne was also a passionate and very enthusiastic volunteer who gave her time, energy, shining personality and incredible intellect to multiple causes. She volunteered at the Golden Age Nursing Home and the Arizona State Hospital. In addition, she also volunteered at Camelback Hospital and was presented the Directors of Volunteers in Agencies (DOVIA) Award by Arizona’s first female Secretary of State Rose Mofford (who later became AZ’s first female governor), for more than 1,000 hours of service (equal to over 25 work weeks) for her outstanding orientation of new patients, her care and assistance to help patients on and off hospital grounds and her support of the activity center’s creative arts program. As stated in the award, “LaMoyne is extremely responsible and resourceful and has related in a friendly effective manner with patients and staff during the past four years of volunteering.” As those that know her, she had a special way and talent for talking to people and relating to them on a very personal level and enabling them to open up and feel comfortable while gaining their trust. All this additional work was pretty incredible given that she was also taking care of her family and attending community college. She also volunteered at her daughter’s elementary school and was an endeared fixture on the playground helping and keeping watch over the children.

She was also a lifelong member of Scottsdale United Methodist Church and a very active participant in many groups in the church. Not surprising, she was a frequent volunteer at fundraisers and a solid supporter with the Sunday school program along with many other church events and programs. She was also an enthusiastic volunteer that could always be relied on to help and was always willing and able to assist wherever and whenever it was needed.

LaMoyne loved to sew and quilt and belonged to the Delightful Quilters and won many awards for her hand sewn quilts at shows and county fairs. She was recognized multiple times in the media for her accomplishments. One example is when she was highlighted for her coordination efforts for the Quilter’s group and in the creation and delivery of 286 Christmas stockings to the Devereux Advanced Behavior School. She loved to travel to the quilt shows with her many friends and loved to share her inspirational knowledge of design, sewing, quilting, and product completion. LaMoyne loved to dance and was a very accomplished tap dancer. She won many talent contests with her incredible agility, speed and rhythm while tapping.

LaMoyne enjoyed reading and was a member of many book clubs throughout the years. One of the more notorious book clubs was called the “Ubiquitous Book Club” which she was a key member. The goal of that club was to read, “books we want to read, not because anyone told us we should or had to but just because we wanted to.” But the real strength of the club was getting to know each other and bringing in new members and making them feel welcome and appreciated; two things that LaMoyne was extremely good at doing. Recognizing the importance of community groups, LaMoyne mobilized the club and organized a block watch after a series of burglaries in the area. She knew that posting signs alone wouldn’t fix the issue and to combat the problem she stated that, “You need to organize and be a collective group.” The efforts were extremely successful and the crimes rapidly stopped.

LaMoyne blazed trails as an entrepreneur when she started her own import/export company with her sister Edie. They traveled outside the United States many times to research, inspect and buy goods for their successful business. LaMoyne enjoyed sales, meeting new people and making friends. Even at the international level, in countries amongst people, cultures and languages that were not familiar, she had an uncanny way to always make people feel welcome and at ease. A truly gifted trait that is rarely seen.

LaMoyne was preceded in death by her life companion, Wesley and is survived by her two daughters, Angela Sitek and Mindy Ramacieri, and her sister, Edie Denton. She has seven grandchildren; Amber Sitek, Jason Duran, Tanya Duran, Leah Williams, Michelle Lester, Johnny Sitek and Brandon Duran. She also has 16 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. LaMoyne was a loving, caring and selfless person that gave more than she received and she will be forever missed.

You may, in lieu of flowers, donate in memory of LaMoyne to: The American Heart Association.