Stanley Max Skiles was born in Wichita, KS on May 25, 1947, the second of two children of Max and Zella (Snell) Skiles. Stan, as he preferred to be called, attended Wichita Public Schools graduating from East High School in 1965. After high school, Stan attended York College in York, Nebraska for almost two years until a serious injury kept him from completing courses. Stan then remained in Wichita after his recovery.
In the fall of 1970, Stan and Becky went on their first date, after being introduced by Becky's brother. It was not love at first sight by any account, but, over the course of time, their relationship blossomed and they married on August 4, 1973. Stan worked several different jobs during the first few years of their marriage and also worked to complete his auto body and paint certification at Wichita Vo-Tech in 1977. After his graduation from Vo-Tech, he worked painting semi truck cabs at Doonan Trucking for the next two years.
After six years of marriage, Stan and Becky welcomed their first child Monica, on Stan's
birthday in 1979. Almost five years later, they welcomed their second child, Brett in May 1984. During these years, Stan worked for several local body shops and then opened his own body shop in Haysville, called Rebuild and Refinish Body Shop. Stan owned and operated this shop until 1986. After being in and around body shops for most of his career, he accepted a sales position with a paint supply company that had just entered the Wichita market. After helping grow the market share for that company, he was offered another sales position with Chief Automotive, where he found great success and was able to provide for his family over the next 15 years. He then went on to found his own company, Body Shop Equipment, Inc., in 2002 where he continued to flourish in sales and customer relationships. Stan will be remembered for his love of Christ and the church, his family, trains, motorcycles, ice cream, Dr. Pepper, classic cars, and dill pickles. Stan is survived by his wife of 46 years, Becky; children, Monica (Trey) Ford and Brett (Kayla) Skiles both of Wichita and six grandchildren, Rachel, Noah, Ethan, and Jude Skiles and Zella and Sullivan Ford. Other survivors include his sister, Marla (Art) Schwiethale of Abilene, TX and numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins. A memorial has been established with the Clearwater church of Christ and the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief.