Public invited to Saturday celebration of life for retired Deschutes County Sheriff Les Stiles

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The public is invited to the celebration of life and service of retired Deschutes County Sheriff Les Stiles, which will take place Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds, Middle Sister Building.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests tax deductible donations to the Les Stiles Legacy Leadership Scholarship at the Oregon Community Foundation.

Sheriff Stiles was elected as the seventh Sheriff of Deschutes County and served from 2001 to 2007. He championed and oversaw the implementation of stable funding with the hard work of Sheriff Larry Blanton (at the time serving as Undersheriff), the command staff and teammates at the Sheriff’s Office. 

He oversaw the accreditation of the office (the second Sheriff’s Office in the state to do so at the time), started the Shop with a Cop program, and founded the Sheriff’s Office Central Oregon Partnerships for Youth program (mentoring of children with incarcerated parents) with his wife, Carol.

"His service had a significant positive impact on the future of our office and service to our community," Thursday's announcement stated.

Sheriff Stiles was a military veteran, having served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. He served in law enforcement beginning with Northglenn Police Department in Colorado, as the Chief of the Moab, Utah Police Department, and as a Lieutenant with the Bend Police Department prior to serving as Sheriff. 

Additionally, while with the Bend Police Department, he taught law enforcement classes at the Central Oregon Community College for 17 years and owned a fly-fishing guide service as he was an avid fly fisherman. After retirement, he owned his own consulting business Legacy Leadership, and later served as the Prineville Police Chief. He also taught leadership classes in the Concordia MBA program.