Ralph Edwin Chiles

Ralph Edwin Chiles, 73, of Moorcroft, died Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, at Pioneer Manor in Gillette.

Visitation will be at 9 a.m. Saturday with services following at 10 a.m. at Moorcroft Community Center with his niece, Shayla Graham, officiating. Burial will follow the services at Greenwood Cemetery in Newcastle.

Mr. Chiles was born March 25, 1939, in Deep Water, Mo., to Prince P. Chiles and Dorothy M.E. (Morgan) Chiles. When he was 8 years old, he moved with his family to Newcastle. After the death of his father in 1948, Mr. Chiles and his mother and sisters Edna Mae and Esther moved to Osage to begin a new chapter with their stepfather, Laurence A. Dewey in 1950.

He attended schools in Weston County, graduating from Newcastle High School in 1957. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1960. He was stationed in Texas and Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was honorably discharged in 1963.

Mr. Chiles married Shirley S. Shook on Sept. 25, 1966, and they had three children. They moved to Moorcroft in 1968.

He worked various construction jobs before starting Chiles Construction in the early 1980s. He owned and operated it until 2010, when he was unable to continue to work due to his health.

He enjoyed fishing, playing cards, making Christmas candy, playing with his dogs, and spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Mr. Chiles is survived by his wife of Moorcroft; children, Brenda Schooler and Robert Chiles of Moorcroft, and Connie Moore of Casper; brothers William Dewey and Fred Dewey of Moorcroft and Larry Dewey of Bondurant ,Iowa; sisters Edna Mae Korfanta of Billings, Mont., Esther Duffield of Johnstown, Neb., and Alice Dewey of Colorado Springs, Colo.; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins.

He is preceded in death by his father, mother, stepfather, and one nephew, Ricky Duffield.

Memorials are suggested to Inyan Kara Shrine Club, P.O. Box 606 Newcastle, WY 82701.