Four score and 10 years ago, Edgar Lee Giles was the third of seven children born to George Giles Sr. and Ella Dorothy Robb, on March 20, 1927 in Stony Creek, Virginia, during the time the Byrd Organization dominated the state of Virginia. Stony Creek through and through, as a youth Edgar dedicated his life to Christ under the guidance of his parents.
Edgar completed the third grade in the Virginia State Public School System before joining the workforce. In 1943, at the age of 17, Edgar Lee left the agriculture workforce to join the United States Marine Corps. He entered at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, leaving behind his six siblings (Elizabeth, George Jr., Margaret, Sarah, Flossie and Corine). While in the military he was able to complete two more years of education, totaling five years of grammar school. He would later inspire his own children to go even further in their education, with all graduating from high school and several going on to earn bachelor's and even master's degrees.
During one of many deployments to the Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps base in California, Edgar was introduced to his soon-to-be wife, Essie Lee Rhodes, by a friend and fellow marine, James Willie Rogers, who we now know as Uncle Buck from Lawton, Oklahoma. Essie and Edgar married on February 19, 1951 and they remained married for 61 years until Essie's death on December 27, 2012.
In 1957, Edgar and Essie made their home in Long Beach, California. They purchased the home where they raised their ten children¬; Willie Earl, Ella Mae, Edward, Charline, Leo, Leroy, Veronica, Lawrence, Orlando and George Richard and all attended Christ Second Baptist Church under the ministry of the late Herman Gore Sr. On most Sunday mornings, Edgar could regularly be seen walking from his home on Lewis Avenue to the little church located on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and New York Street. He even walked to the temporary location when Second Baptist was being renovated to its current design.
Edgar Lee served during one of the most widespread and deadliest wars in history, World War II; his other service included the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He was deployed several times overseas to Hawaii at a time when family members weren't authorized to travel with the service members, which created a hardship on the family. Eventually the family was able to join him for two of the tours, always returning to the green and white house on Lewis Ave.

Sergeant Edgar Lee Giles ("Sarge") retired from the United States Marine Corps "Semper Fidelis" with 20 years of Honorable Service. His military awards and decorations include the following: a Navy Occupation Service Medal, a World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, an American Campaign Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Good Conduct Medal Forth Award and the Rifle Sharpshooter Badge. After retiring from the military, Edgar took a job with Phelps Dodge as a machinist and worked another 20 years to provide for his sizable family.
Edgar Lee Giles will always be remembered for the days when family and friends traveled throughout Southern
California on the weekends to play dominoes and "loud talking" while eating homemade soul food dishes
Edgar Lee Giles will always be remembered for the days when family and friends traveled throughout Southern
California on the weekends to play dominoes and "loud talking" while eating homemade soul food dishes
Edgar Lee Giles will always be remembered for the days when family and friends traveled throughout Southern
California on the weekends to play dominoes and "loud talking" while eating homemade soul food dishes
Edgar Lee Giles will always be remembered for the days when family and friends traveled throughout Southern
California on the weekends to play dominoes and "loud talking" while eating homemade soul food dishes
So, whether you know Edgar as: Giles, Sarge, Pops, Daddy, Papa, Grandpa, Uncle Giles, Uncle Edgar Lee, Brother-in-law, Brother Giles, the Colonel or Mr. Giles, we will always remember him for that contagious smile, his laugh, his witty comments ("I'm a grown *** man!"), his seat at King Park, the business he worked out of his garage and the kindness he showed to so many of his neighbors and families in our community. But most of all, Edgar Lee will always be remembered for the days when family and friends visited on weekends to play dominoes and lots of "loud talking" while eating homemade soul food dishes.
Dad spent the last 10 years and 3 months of his life on dialysis, and he was called the "Miracle Man" at his doctors' office. There was no one our father would not greet and talk to and he was still sharp as a tack in all his conversations.
Edgar is preceded in death by his wife, Essie Lee Giles; parents, George Sr. and Ella D. Giles; sons Leo and Lawrence Giles; siblings, Elizabeth Taylor, George Jr., and Margaret Moore; in-laws Henry L. Sr., Johnnie, (JL), Edgar (EL), Robert Earl, and Bobbie Max Rhodes, James Willie Rogers, Albert Butler, and Dory Taylor, James Foster, Julius Nelson; and one son-in-law: Sam Steel Jr.
Cherishing Edgar's memory are his siblings: Sarah Atkins (Robert) of Carson, Virginia, Flossie Foster of Jacksonville, Florida and Corine Nelson of Goose Creek, South Carolina; his in-laws, Sam Rhodes Sr. and Sylvia Marie Rogers of Lawton, OK, Norma Faye Butler and Lionel Eugene Rhodes of Lakewood, CA; and his children: Willie Earl Martin (Carol), Ella Mae LeBeauf, Edward Lee Giles (Beverly), Charline Lang (Edward), Leroy Giles, Veronica Moore (Calvin), Orlando Giles (Kim), and George Richard. He is remembered by twenty-four grandchildren, twenty-six great grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.