Hiles Stout

Hiles Stout, age 81, of Peoria passed away at 9:20 p.m. on Monday, October 31, 2016. Born May 10, 1935 in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Gale and Mildred Stout, he graduated from Peoria High School in 1953. While at Peoria High, Hiles was one of the most versatile and accomplished athletes in the annals of Peoria high school athletics. He established records at Peoria High School as an all-star performer in football, basketball and baseball. He was a standout quarterback who gained over a mile in total offense in his career. A tough and rugged center in basketball, he led Peoria High to a second place finish in the 1953 single-class state tournament. He was also a power hitting first baseman on the Peoria baseball team. At one time his 1,546 career basketball points and single-game high of 48 (against Spalding) were records for all local prep players.

After high school, Hiles had many athletic scholarship offers, but he chose the University of Illinois over Michigan, Notre Dame, Miami, Georgia and Kansas. He went on to become a bonafide two-sport standout for the Fighting Illini in both football and basketball, and actually played three sports (football, basketball and baseball) for two years at Illinois. He earned three football letters under Coach Ray Elliott and three basketball letters under Coach Harry Combes. He started both in football at quarterback and in basketball at forward. He was inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.Following graduation from the University of Illinois, Hiles had interest from professional football teams. The Cleveland Browns offered him a tryout, but a shoulder injury from college ended his professional ambitions. He returned to Peoria and worked as a sales representative for Caterpillar, Inc, and then went on to serve several years in the Marine Corps. He again returned to Peoria after completing his military service, and in the early 1960s accepted an offer from Joe Hecht to form an insurance agency partnership. He owned the Hecht-Stout Insurance Agency for many years.

Hiles was a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather. At the University of Illinois, Hiles met the love of his life, Marcia Kittilsen, whom he married in 1960. Marcia died in 2001. He is survived by his three children: Wade Stout of New Freedom, WI, Sally (Steve) Ferlmann of Modesto, CA, and Susie (Jeff) Sorenson of Dunlap, IL, and his ten grandchildren – Melissa, Claire, Jessica, Peter, Katie, Wyatt, Alex, Michael, Ellie, and John.

He was a passionate handball player, tennis enthusiast and runner, who completed three marathons. He loved spending the winter months in Marco Island, Florida, and spent countless hours watching his grandkids participate in youth, high school and college sports. He co-founded the St. Jude Tennis Classic, a local and very successful fund raiser for the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate, and chaired the event for 26 years, raising more than $1 million for St. Jude. He attended Grace Presbyterian Church for 50 years.Visitation for Hiles will be held at Davison-Fulton Woolsey-Wilton Funeral Home on Friday, November 4, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday, November 5, at 10 a.m. with a funeral to follow there at noon. Burial will be at Springdale Cemetery. Memorials in Hiles’ memory may be made to the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate or Grace Presbyterian Church. Please view Hiles’ obituary online at www.Woolsey-Wilton.com