Lorna June Giles, a loving, energetic life spirit and force, died on Thursday, April 28, 2016, at the age of 62. She was immensely creative, passionate, driven, and a champion of the undervalued and underserved.
Lorna was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Thursday, Jan. 14, 1954, to parents, now deceased, Dorothy Dove Giles and Thomas J. Giles. She grew up in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens, N.Y.
Throughout her life from an early age, education was a central focus of Lorna’s achievements. Her academic acumen was cited and acknowledged throughout her matriculation in the New York City public school communities. She was accepted at M.I.T. in 1971, and received both her bachelor of science and master of science in architectural art and design, completed in 1977. She also worked during those years for the Charles Stark Draper Labs in Cambridge in mechanical design, and was one of the earliest professionals employing computer-aided drafting. After graduation she joined the architectural practice of Hill, Miller, Friedlander and Hollander (HMFH) in Cambridge, which specialized in educational facilities, primarily K-12, for many school districts in the Northeast.
In 1984, Lorna moved back to New York City as a construction project manager for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, an agency managing both the financing and construction for the City and State university systems. She oversaw a varied range of projects for Queens College, the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and Queens Community College. Moving from the city to the suburbs of New Jersey to start a family, Lorna deployed her talents consulting to HomeCorp, a developer of affordable housing alternatives in and around Montclair. She was active in volunteering through her church, serving early-childhood education afterschool initiatives for many years. She was active civically through the local Community Fund and other nonprofits focused on delivering outreach programs.
Throughout her life Lorna loved to travel, and visited everywhere from South America to Europe to the Caribbean. In 1993, an impromptu trip to Martha’s Vineyard introduced Lorna to her next endeavor in life. This trip became an annual tradition, which Lorna and her family cherished every year. Falling in love with the beauty of the Island, Lorna became inspired to transition from supporting communities through her work in architecture to sharing her spirit with others as an innkeeper. In the fall of 2000, Lorna became the innkeeper and owner of the Arbor Inn in Edgartown, where she stayed for 15 years.
To say that music was Lorna’s most fervent passion would be a monumental understatement. She lived outside the bounds in terms of breadth of genres, at a level of 14 when the dials only went to 10. From gospel to classical, jazz, R&B, to rap and rock, it was a constant and often the loudest backdrop to all life’s cycles. She even traveled globally to venues to see favorite artists, and certainly most often to be in the presence of Prince, the icon and genius from Minneapolis who also died this week.
Outside of her work as an innkeeper, Lorna continued to fuel her passions for serving others. She joined the church community of the First Baptist Church in Vineyard Haven, where she lent her voice to the church choir each Sunday. She also volunteered for the Meals on Wheels program, bringing her special ability to make others smile. Lorna served on the board of the U.S. Slave Song Project, and was actively engaged as a member of the board of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Over the years she would graciously host Falmouth Academy’s annual gathering for new students, parents, and alumni at the Inn. She extended her warmest hospitality to nationally known Island guests, international travelers, and welcomed many and all to share the special places at hand.
Lorna was a loving and devoted mother, wife, daughter, teacher, and friend. She is survived by her daughters Melora Armstead and Emelia Armstead, her husband Kenneth Armstead, her sisters Susan Giles and Nancy Giles, her brothers Jeffrey Giles, Dwayne Giles, and Gilbert Giles. Her eldest brother, Leland Giles, predeceased her. She is also survived by many other loving and caring nieces, nephews, relatives, caregivers, neighbors, and friends. She will be greatly missed by all of us. A service will be held in her honor on Saturday, May 7, at 2:30 pm, at the First Baptist Church in Vineyard Haven.
In lieu of flowers or other remembrances, donations in her name can be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for Breast Cancer Research, or to the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Translational Brain Tumor Immunology Lab for Neuro-Oncology Cancer Research.
Checks can be made out to one or both of the following: Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Memo line — Dr. Will Curry’s Research Fund. To the attention of: Sarah Church, MGH Development Office, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540, Boston, MA 02114-1101. Or, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memo line — Dr. Erica Mayer’s Research Fund; To the attention of: Suzanne Kouri, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284.
Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. Visit ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.