Lettie Iles

Lettie Iles, age 102, died of natural causes at Whittier, California on July 24, 2014. Born in Omaha, Texas on March 26, 1912 to Charlie and Bulah Pate, she attended elementary schools in Arkansas and Arizona, high school in Casa Grande, Arizona, and graduated from the Phoenix Beauty School (Arizona) in 1933. Lettie lived in Williams, Arizona, after graduation, working both as a beautician and as a telephone operator, as well as in a movie theater. It was in Williams that she met and married Don Iles on August 23, 1936. In 1940, they returned to Casa Grande for 32 years of cotton farming. Lettie enjoyed volunteering at Calvary Baptist Church in Casa Grande, spending joy-filled times with family, and working at Marges Town Shop. She retired to a senior apartment in Whittier, California in 2001 to be near her daughter and family. There she developed quite a talent for bead-work, making creative necklaces and bracelets sold at craft fairs and given to family and friends. Lettie was preceded in death by Don Iles, her husband of 50 years. Descendants include daughter Sharon Galassi (Placentia, California), son Calvert Iles (Fort Collins, Colorado), six grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Services will be held at McAulay & Wallace Mortuaries, 902 Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California on August 3, 2014, at 2:00 PM. Interment will be at Mountain View Cemetery, Casa Grande, Arizona, on August 6, at 5:00 PM. Family and friends are welcome to attend.