[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 185 (Tuesday, October 27, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING MYRA STILES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 27, 2020

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember my friend and a 
local and national Democratic Party stalwart, Myra Stiles, who passed 
on Friday at the age of 84. Mrs. Stiles was active in Democratic Party 
politics, joining the Volunteer Women's Roundtable shortly after 
arriving in Memphis with her husband, Robert, months after the 
assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968. She went on to 
become an officer, president, and treasurer of the Democratic Women of 
Shelby County, and served in positions with the Shelby County 
Democratic Executive Committee, as well as President of the Tennessee 
Federation of Democratic Women. She always had the Democratic women's 
annual Christmas Party at her home--a wonderful gathering of friends in 
the holiday season. Mrs. Stiles was also a longtime member and chair of 
the Shelby County Election Commission, first elected in 1987. No one in 
the last 30 years has done more guaranteeing access to the ballot and 
free and fair elections in Shelby County than Myra Stiles. She was also 
special assistant to William Farris when he served as chairman of the 
Tennessee Democratic Party (1978-1981). Mrs. Stiles was active in the 
political campaigns of Harold Ford, Sr.; Harold Ford, Jr.; Beverly 
Marrero; Mary Wilder; and many others on the national, state, and local 
levels. She was instrumental in my campaigns going back to 1976, when I 
was a candidate for the state Constitutional Convention from the 
Midtown district. She was an enthusiastic supporter in all my 
subsequent races for the state Senate and later for Congress with her 
prominent and well-recognized yard signs on McLean. Mrs. Stiles 
attended four Democratic National Conventions and two presidential 
inaugurations. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland proclaimed February 20, 
2016 ``Myra Stiles Day'' for her dedicated service to the city and its 
citizens. Since 2003, Mrs. Stiles had been an active member of Mothers 
of the NILE, an organization which works to reduce the number of 
children entering the juvenile justice system. Mrs. Stiles loved 
politics, the democratic process and Democratic principles and her 
community will long remember her dedicated service. I extend my 
profound condolences to her children Allison, Sarah and Robert, and 
their families, and to her many friends and colleagues. She did 
important work and will be missed.

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