Longtime Claremont resident Shirley Marguerite Stiles died peacefully in her sleep at home on Sunday, December 7. She was 86.

Shirley Briggs was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 29, 1928. She met her husband-to-be, Dr. Gerald Stiles, at a summer church service on the lawn in Moncton, New Brunswick Canada. Dr. and Mrs. Stiles lived in Canada for a few years before moving to Pomona in 1964, after Dr. Stiles accepted a surgical position with Pomona Valley Hospital. Not long after, the Stiles family settled in Claremont where they raised their children, which includes twin daughters, Heather and Leslie, and a son, Michael.

Mrs. Stiles was a loving wife and mother and took great joy in raising her family. She volunteered in her church, Pilgrim Congregational, where she was involved in children’s Sunday Services, and was an officer in the Assistance League of Pomona Valley and active with the Pomona Valley Hospital Auxiliary until her husband’s retirement in the mid-1980s.

In addition to her dedication to family and church, Mrs. Stiles was an avid bridge player, theater buff and enjoyed lifelong friendships, even participating in the “Birthday Club,” a group of girlfriends who gathered each month for lunch to celebrate birthdays.

Mrs. Stiles cherished traveling with her husband. One particular excursion was captured in a photograph of the couple playfully riding donkeys through Greece, their daughter shared.

“Some of our favorite trips were to England, Scotland, Ireland and the Mediterranean. We saw the world,” Dr. Stiles said of his wife of 62 years.

Mrs. Stiles is survived by her husband, Gerald; by her daughters Heather Boehner (Bill) and Leslie Baker (Joe); and by her son, Michael (Stephanie). She is also survived by six grandchildren, Jeremiah and Patrick Boehner; Bethany and Andrew Baker; and Genevieve and Johnson Stiles; and by one great-grandson, Lincoln Broughton.

A viewing will be held on Thursday, December 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Todd Memorial Chapel in Pomona. Memorial services for Mrs. Stiles will take place Friday, December 12 at 10 a.m. at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 600 N. Garey Ave., Pomona, followed by a graveside service at 1 p.m. at Oak Park Cemetery, 410 Sycamore Ave., Claremont.