Thomas Everett Giles, 89, of Bartlett, a retired engineer and former longtime member of the Bartlett Plan Commission, died Wednesday, Jan. 1, in his home from complications related to a disease of the esophagus.
Born in the Montclare neighborhood on Chicago’s Far Northwest Side, Mr. Giles moved to Bartlett with his family when he was 15. He attended Crane Junior College in Chicago, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering.
Soon after moving to Bartlett, he met his future wife, the former Ruth Harmening, who lived in the house behind his family’s.
“The way they got to know each other was like something out of a novel,” his son Ray said. “They met over the back-yard fence one day when he was outside playing. It was love at first sight.”
From 1956 to 1978, Mr. Giles served on the Bartlett Plan Commission, during which time family members said his focus was keeping the town from being overrun by businesses while remaining economically sound.
“When my dad first moved to Bartlett in the ’40s, it was a heavily wooded area of scattered farmhouses with a population of about 600,” his son said. “Today it’s at about 30,000, and thanks to people like my dad, it’s still very much a bedroom community with much of its original charm.”
During his years on the commission, family members said Mr. Giles often went head to head with developers who wanted to bring in more business or build homes on lots that he believed were too small.
“He wasn’t a big crusader for increasing the business sector in town, so when it came to that he was kind of a watchdog,” his son said. “But more importantly, whatever growth was to occur, whether it be business or housing, he wanted it to be orderly and well-planned. His motto was `Let’s keep this town nice, or even try to make it nicer.'”
In 1978, Mr. Giles retired from the Goss Division of Rockwell Graphic Systems in Cicero, where he worked for 41 years as a mechanical engineer. He was also a life member and a Melvin Jones Fellow of the Bartlett Lions Club and the Elgin Masonic Lodge 117.
“My father was a busy man but always kept his priorities straight, dividing his time between his family, work and community,” his son said. “To him, success was not measured in dollar signs, but in living your life well and on your own terms.”
In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife, Ruth; daughter, Marilyn Ziegler; six grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Countryside Funeral Home, 950 S. Bartlett Rd., Bartlett.
