Columbus, OH — Paul D. Liles, 85, of Batavia, Iowa, died Feb. 14, 2021, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.

Paul D. Liles, 85, of Batavia, Iowa, died Feb. 14, 2021.

He was born Sept. 27, 1935, in Davis County, Iowa, to Charles and Caroline Hewett Liles. He started his schooling in a one room country school and completed his education at Douds High School, graduating in 1953.

He started working at Harper’s Brush and then married Evelyn Benda in 1956; they had three children. He worked at American Chain and Cable Co. for 25 years, but his passion was working with horses, which he turned into a family business in harness racing.

Mr. Liles always valued hard work and this was exemplified in the building of the family horse racing business. While working full time at the factory, in 1967 he started his horse racing career, caring for and training the horses every night after his day job ended. After a few years he was able to purchase a small farm and slowly transformed it into a full-time horse training and breeding facility. He was a prominent figure on the Iowa and Illinois horse racing circuits, with many friends and colleagues. In 2011 he was inducted into the Iowa Harness Horseman’s Hall of Fame.

He first got his interest in horse racing from his brother, Dewight, then began his horse racing career raising, training, and driving Standardbreds. Key to his success, he was very protective of his elderly broodmares who produced several fine race horses that won several awards.

Mr. Liles served on the board of the Iowa Harness Horse Association and held memberships in the Iowa Sires Stakes Association, the Hawkeye Colt Association, and the United States Trotting Association.

He is survived by his wife, Evelyn; sons, Gary and Robert; daughter, Kathy (Mark) Crane; grandchildren, Heather (Steven) Blaustein, Tiffany and Kyle McFadden; great-grandchildren, Alexis and Sofia; brother, Gene; and sisters, Pauline Lind and Naomi Grunwald. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Albert, Dewight, Frank, Pardon, Everett, Emett, Bill, and David; and sisters, Sarah Talbott, Mary, Rachel Greene, and Ruth Boliou.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Standardbred Retirement Foundation, P.O. Box 312, Millstone Twp., NJ 08535 (609.738.3255).