Lynn “Bear” Stiles ’50

Former Cornell Trustee Lynn “Bear” Stiles ’50 of Muscatine, Iowa, died Jan. 18, 2021. He was 92.

Stiles was a three-sport athlete at Cornell, setting track records in shotput, participating on the 1947 national championship wrestling team, and playing football. He earned his master’s degree at the University of Illinois. Then while serving in the Navy he started the first self-service military post exchange store. 

He owned Stiles Drug and Ace Hardware in Muscatine and built a chain of Ace Hardware stores across Iowa and Illinois. 

Football was his life passion. After retirement, he and co-founder Jim Miller started the Youth Sports Foundation, acquiring the equipment and coaches needed for a football program for children in 3rd through 7th grades. The program has grown exponentially and now also offers cheerleading, volleyball, and track and field programs to more than 300 communities in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. 

Stiles was a loyal and generous supporter of Cornell athletics, including donations to the Ash Park field renovation in 2014 and the 1986 construction of the Small Sport Center arena. In addition to serving on the Cornell College Board of Trustees from 1981–1990 and 1991-1996, Stiles provided leadership to the boards of his local Wesley United Methodist Church and Chamber of Commerce. 

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, honorary alumna Sally Stiles, four children, and six grandchildren.