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Obituary for Edward Ray Giles
Edward Ray Giles, age 84, of Chrisman and formerly of Marshall, Illinois went to his heavenly home on Thursday, March 13, 2014 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease at Pleasant Meadows Senior Living in Chrisman. He was born on July 14, 1929 in Dana, Indiana, the son of William F. and Hettie (Ryland) Giles; the eleventh of twelve children born to this union. Ed was an avid outdoorsman, always loving the beauty of nature. He loved the beauty of all four seasons. The beautiful colors of spring flowers and flowering trees. He loved the green grass of summer. He always looked forward to the autumn colors and wanted to take drives to southern Indiana to visit the beautiful parks at that time of year. He also loved the amazing beauty of new fallen snow – so white and pure with water frozen on the trees glimmering like crystal. At a young age of 16, Ed left school and enlisted in the Army. After boot camp, he served in Japan from 1943-1945. Upon discharge, he lived in Hammond, IN with his sister and brother-in-law. He soon met then married Betty Jones. Three daughters were born to that union: Dawn, Claudia and Annette. His mother-in-law, Mary Jones, led Ed to the Lord in her living room. Being a tender-hearted and gentle person, he quickly felt the Lord touching his heart for preaching the gospel. This led Ed and Betty to move to Chattanooga, TN where Ed graduated from the Tennessee Temple with a degree in divinity. While taking college classes, Ed became an accomplished tool and die maker so he could support his family. On August 3, 1969, he married Haroldine Kintz in Brownstown, IL. She had two young children, Kimberly and Brent, whom Ed loved just as much as he did Haroldine. They dedicated their home and marriage to serving the Lord. After moving to Fairfield, IL, he worked as a manufacturing engineer. He also worked as a manufacturing engineer with the Singer Corporation corporate staff, traveling to three other plants in Pickens, SC, Anderson, SC and Fort Springs, AR. He served the Lord with his service of preaching and being a Sunday school teacher at many churches through the years. A few of the churches he served and helped grow were Smith Chapel Baptist Church in McLeansboro, IL; Florence Baptist Temple in Florence, SC; First Baptist Church in Lynchburg, SC Marshall Baptist Church in Marshall, IL, Ashmore Baptist Church in Ashmore, IL and Southern Baptist Church in Paris, IL. Ed was a great motivator with one accomplishment he is especially proud of happened while serving the Florence Baptist Temple in Florence, SC. Here, he worked closely with Pastor Bill Monroe growing the church regular attendance from 400 to 1200. The church also grew from 4 church buses to 18 church buses. Ed is survived by his wife of 44 years, Haroldine, five children: Dawn (Lali) Singh of New Mexico, Claudia Ponce of Evansville, WI, Annette (Thom) Ingersoll of Madison, WI, Kimberly (Billy) Hardas of Chrisman, IL and Brent (Susan) Harper of Elloree, SC; two sisters: Wanda Ochoa and Dora Brown both of Port Hueneme, CA; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, five sisters and four brothers. Visitation will be held on Monday, March 17, 2014 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Krabel Funeral Home in Chrisman. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Marshall Cemetery in Marshall, IL with full military rites conducted by Marshall American Legion Post #90. For those who wish, memorials may be made to Lincolnland Hospice.
