Obituary published on Legacy.com by Bevis Funeral Home – Tallahassee on Mar. 6, 2024.
Evalyn Adele Long Stiles, 90, of Tallahassee, Florida, passed away peacefully on March 2, 2024. She was born in New York City, New York, on May 11, 1933, to the late John Long (d. 1981) and Rebecca Chambers (d. 2007), both of Ireland. Evalyn was married to her loving husband of 66 years, Wilbur Janes Stiles, who passed away last year. Evalyn and Wilbur had two sons, Wilbur Janes Stiles, II (b. 1959) and the late John Edmund Stiles (1962-2002).
While living in New York City as a young girl, Evalyn attended grade school at New York City Public School, PS 189. Her family moved to Suffern, NY, when she was 8 years old in 1941. She graduated from Suffern High School in 1951. After High School Evalyn worked as a secretary in the virus research lab at Lederle Laboratories where the polio vaccine was developed. She married Wilbur, who was also from Suffern and whom she met in high school, on June 16, 1956, in Laredo, TX while Wilbur was an instructor pilot for the U.S. Air Force. She worked at the base hospital as a medical transcriber.
Evalyn lived in Atlanta, GA from 1959 to 1965 while Wilbur studied mathematics at Georgia Tech, raising their two boys, and moved to Tallahassee when Wilbur was hired by Florida State University as a professor of mathematics. Evalyn attended Tallahassee Junior College (now TCC) from 1969 to 1972. After their boys became older, she went back to work as the Director’s secretary at Easter Seal Rehabilitation Center, where she worked for many years.
Evalyn had a positive personality, a good sense of humor and was highly supportive to her family and friends. She was also clever and creative, loved to make things, had numerous interests in her lifetime, including history, art and antiques, and was quite an artist in her own right. Her interests included hooking rugs, which she did using wool strips that she hand-dyed. She was accomplished at crewel embroidery and taught classes on the subject. She became accomplished at the art of tole painting and made trips to surrounding communities with friends to acquire vintage tin lunch pails and other items on which to paint her designs. Evalyn was an avid doll collector, amassing a collection of both antique and modern collectible dolls. She sewed doll clothes for Sasha dolls under the name “Wee Wardrobe” from 1980 to 1987 and sold the clothes at Sasha Doll conventions to finance her travels. In early 2000, Evalyn developed a sewing group that made clothes for the French doll, Bleuette.
Evalyn was proud of her Irish ancestry. Both of her parents grew up in families with eight children, and both immigrated to the United States from Ireland. Evalyn had over 60 first cousins and to this day still has many relatives living in Ireland and elsewhere around the world.
Evalyn was predeceased by her beloved husband Wilbur and her son John. She is survived by her son Wilbur “Billy” (LuAnn) and her grandson Wilbur Janes Stiles, III of Richmond, VA. A graveside service for family and friends will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at Meadowood Memorial Park on Timberlane Road. A special thank you to Evalyn’s caregivers Schylea Williams, Lisa Cox and Latanyea Sutton for their loving caregiving that brought Evalyn many happy moments during the later years of her life. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Big Bend Hospice. Todd Wahlquist is assisting the family with their arrangements (850-385-2193, www.bevisfh.com).
