NEW BEDFORD — Gilbert Gaylord Stiles passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on December 4, 2013, at Hathaway Manor.
Born in New Bedford on August 1, 1920, to Alice Cleveland and Walter Stiles, Gilbert lived most of his life in South Dartmouth. He will be dearly missed by family and friends.
Gilbert was a member and past master of Noquochoke and Abraham H. Howland Lodges and a member of the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth and the Cranberry Flywheelers Antique Machinery Club. He played clarinet in the Dartmouth Community Band and was very active with the Dartmouth School Music Association. He enjoyed making ship models, was handy at woodworking and was a superb Ping-Pong player in his younger years. He developed a love of the sea as a boy with his father at the helm and continued this passion throughout his life.
Gilbert was a veteran who served aboard ship as a radio operator for the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II.
He graduated from Dartmouth High School in 1938 and worked as a plumber after completing an apprenticeship program. He also worked at Concordia Boatyard and later as an assessor for the town of Dartmouth.
After 65 years of marriage, his beloved wife, Nancy Martin, passed away on August 17, 2013. Gilbert is survived by three children, Walter and his wife Esmeralda of Tiverton, RI, Thomas and his wife Barbara Jean of Acushnet, MA, Faith Pistrang and her husband Larry of Princeton, MA; and two granddaughters, Jenny and Molly Pistrang.
Visiting hours are Tuesday, December 10, from 5 — 8PM at Wilson Chapel, 479 County Street, New Bedford. A joint Masonic service will take place during the visitation by Noquochoke and Abraham H. Howland Lodges. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, December 11, at 11AM at the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth, 17 Middle Street. Burial will follow at River-side Cemetery in Fairhaven.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gilbert Stiles' name to the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth Memorial Fund or to Battleship Cove.