The mother of the two children swept into the ocean on Saturday was not at a vigil held for them Thursday night, but she sent a message to everyone who had gathered there for her children.
“We are in uncharted waters,” said Jamie Stiles, via a message read by the children’s aunt Kristin Romaine. “But your words have been building up like a wave, bigger than the one that took my babies out to sea.”
Romaine read the brief statement on behalf of Stiles at Thursday’s vigil at Vestal Elementary School, where Lola, 7, had been a first grader. Scores of friends, classmates and community members gathered to remember the two children.
Jamie Stiles said her daughter Lola was “so spirited,” and son William, 4, had a heart of gold. She recalled how much they loved each other and adventure.
“We should take solace in the fact that they’re together,” Stiles said. “I will live on so that my babies can live on as a part of me.”
While visiting a beach near the Clatsop-Tillamook County Line on Saturday, Lola, William, and their father, Jeremy Stiles, were all engulfed by a “sneaker wave.” Jeremy Stiles was pulled out of the water and admitted to Seaside Hospital, expected to recover. As of Thursday night, hospital officials couldn’t confirm whether he’d been released. Lola was pulled from the water but died that day. William has not been found.
Several other speakers remembered the children, including Vestal principal Sabrina Flamoe and first grade teacher Eric Swehla, who had Lola in his class this year.
“Each morning Lola would show up with her bright shiny face, often with William at her side,” Swehla said.
He recalled the first grader’s compassion and sense of kindness.
“She could see if a hand needed to be held and had the strength to go up and hold that hand,” he said. “Some people say when they look back on their lives, if they changed one life, they were successful. I think Lola led a pretty successful life.”
The school auditorium was full of people who knew the Stiles family, but others who had never met them decided to come as well.
“It’s hard to put into words,” said Danny Harvey, a father of three kids, including a kindergartener at Vestal. “I know what it’s like to experience tragedy and grief, and now with three small kids — you tend to glom together during grief.”
Tyler Hanns said his daughter and Lola were in choir together, and his son is the same age as William. The two boys didn’t know each other, but they used to play together while waiting for their older sisters.
“We live in the same neighborhood as them,” he said. “We wanted to come out and show our support.”
In her message, Stiles asked people to remember her children during nice moments.
“Like Lola, be tardy to school every once in a while because you needed that one last cuddle,” she said. “As William would say, we love you all 20,000.”
The tragedy has deeply moved Oregonians and non-Oregonians alike. A fundraiser for the family has drawn more than 2,000 donors and collected more than $100,000.
—Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR
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