A Highlands Ranch man serving in the National Guard lost his
life in Afghanistan last week.
Spc. Joh Stiles, 38, died in Jalabad, Afghanistan, Nov. 13.
Stiles was on a route clearing mission when an improvised bomb
exploded.
He and wife Launa Stiles would have celebrated their eighth
wedding anniversary Nov. 18.
Stiles was injured in October when a suicide bomber hit a
vehicle in front of his own. He sustained injuries to his lungs and
vocal cords, but managed to pull out three people from the vehicle.
He was granted 30 days to recover, but did not stay off duty the
full amount of time.
Stiles was born July 6, 1970, in Bartlesville, Okla. He
graduated from Broomfield High School and attended Metropolitan
State College.
Stiles was a member of the Colorado National Guard and his
battery was augmenting an engineer company from the Louisiana
National Guard.
He was also a former Marine and served a year on active duty
with the Army prior to joining the National Guard.
Services will be announced on the Mountainview Community Church
Web site once details are finalized.
Internment will be at Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Stiles is survived by his wife; mother Linda Barnett and her
husband Larry Barnett of Missouri; father Lynn Stiles and his wife
Cecelia of Ohio; sister Natalie Stiles, a Senior Airman serving at
Lackland Air Force Base in Texas; brother Charles Lynn Stiles and
his wife Laura and their children Nathan and Jessica of Missouri;
and paternal grandparents Maxine and Kenneth Stiles of
Missouri.
Launa Stiles requests that all memorials go to the Colorado
National Guard Foundation, 6848 S Revere Parkway, Centennial,
80112.
Stiles is the second Highlands Ranch resident to lose his life
in Afghanistan. In August 2005, Staff Sgt. Chris Falkel died in
fighting near Deh Afghan.
