Memorial service for Rebecca Ann (Becky) Stiles, 66, Lawrence, will be at 2 pm, Friday, May 17, 2024, at First Southern Baptist Church, 4300 W. 6th St., Lawrence, KS 66049. Visitation will be from 6-8 pm, Thursday at the same location. Graveside service will be at 11 am, Friday, May 17, 2024, at Johnson County Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 11200 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66210.
Becky died Thursday, May 9, 2024, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital surrounded by her loving family. She suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in September of 2023 and fought admirably during a difficult recovery before having another stroke on May 5. During her final eight months, her indelible sense of humor sustained her and her family.
She was born February 14, 1958, in Kansas City, the daughter of William (Bill) and Loretta Rowland. She graduated from Shawnee Mission West High School in 1976, a proud member of the marching band who played the clarinet and often reminded her family later in life that “West was best.” After a year at Johnson County Community College, she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Kansas.
She married Joe Stiles on June 19, 1982, in Overland Park, Kansas. They moved to Valley Center, Kansas where Joe served as a youth pastor and Becky worked in the cosmetics department at JCPenny. During that time, they welcomed their first child, Katie. In 1985, they moved to Lawrence when Joe took the youth pastor position at First Southern Baptist Church. They welcomed two more children, Andy and Matt, and set up their roots as devout supporters of Lawrence High School and the University of Kansas.
She was a member of First Southern Baptist Church of Lawrence for 38 years. During that time, she served in children, student, and women’s ministries. She was active in women’s Bible studies, Vacation Bible School, and mission trips all over the country. She often attended Women of Faith conferences with her friends, and regularly listened to, even to her last breath, contemporary praise music.
Becky loved children. She taught her entire 30-year career for Lawrence Public Schools. She began as a substitute for two years before taking a full-time position to help open Sunflower Elementary School. She started teaching first and second grade, before finally serving on the third-grade team for most of her career. In all, she taught 25 years at Sunflower. She loved teaching science, specifically units on outer space, decorating her classroom like the rainforest, reading The One and Only Ivan to her class every year, and educating her classes on Kansas history. She was particularly fond of the yearly Kansas Kids Fitness Day, as well as taking students to tour Allen Fieldhouse and the historic Lawrence Walking Tour to learn about Quantrill’s Raid. She is often remembered for her wit, her patience, and her nurturing and encouraging spirit. One thing is also certain: everyone—students and co-workers alike—will remember Becky’s flawless penmanship. After retiring, she returned to the classroom for three more years, once again as a substitute.
Outside of her professional life, she enjoyed watching the Hallmark Channel, following the latest news on The Royal Family, reading Karen Kingsbury novels, baking—among other things—her summer no bake cookies, playing Solitaire on her laptop, and pulling weeds in her garden. She began every day by checking Facebook to see whose birthday it was and wish them well. She loved opening her home to neighbors and church members and, most often, to her kids’ friends. Her pantry and refrigerator were always fair game. You didn’t even have to ask. She loved curling up in her chair on rainy Sunday afternoons with a book and her Westie, Beasley. Most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her family and creating lasting traditions and memories, like watching A Charlie Brown Christmas every year with her eight grandchildren.
Becky will be missed by her surviving family, including her husband, Joe, her daughter, Katie (Clay) Discher of Parkville, MO, and sons, Andy (Bri) Stiles of Olathe, KS and Matt (Emily) Stiles of De Soto, KS; grandchildren, Charlie, Brody, Nolan, Bo, Banks, Oliver, Lydia, and Levi. She is also survived by her sister, Beverly (Paul) Rupert, her aunt Donna Rowland, as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, other extended family members and her dear friends. She was preceded in death by her parents.
The family suggests memorials to the children’s ministry at First Southern Baptist Church of Lawrence, 4300 W. 6th St., Lawrence, KS 66049.
