Harold Rozell Niles, Cpa

Harold Niles was born July 11, 1936 in Gillette, Wyoming and passed away on April 10, 2020 in Petaluma, California. He left us in the home that he loved, with the woman that he loved by his side. Harold was the son of Harold Robert Niles and Grace Ann Niles and brother to Janice Nielsen. At age 18, he married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Farlee and then joined the Navy for 4 years. After serving his country, he attended Denver University, where he received his Bachelor’ Degree in Accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant shortly after. Together, Harold and Shirley had three children, Bob, Kim and Yvette.

Harold and Shirley moved to Petaluma in 1975 and although in time went their separate ways, remained lifelong friends. Once in Petaluma, Harold helped found Deaton and Roberts LLP CPA, which later became the prominent firm of Roberts, Niles and Schloetter, LLP CPA. Harold was a proprietary member of the Petaluma Yacht Club; on the original building committee, guiding it financially during its formative years. He was also a former Commodore and Board Member.

Harold met Bente Payne in 1988 and married her in 1993, bringing her son Sean Payne and raising him as his own. Harold was a quietly generous man, preferring to keep his numerous contributions to the community anonymous. He had a notoriously dry wit that he kept up until his passing and family was everything to him. Harold is survived by Bente, his devoted wife of 27 years, his  son Bob (Loretta) Niles of Illinois, his daughters, Kim (David) Lapp, Yvette Niles and Sean (Nieves) Payne of Sonoma County, his 6 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren and his beloved bird “Buddy”.

A special thank you to Dr. Sharina Belani, Dr.Sara Holmes of Kaiser Hospital and staff at Fresenius Kidney Care in Petaluma.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Northbay Animal Shelter, 840 Hopper St., Petaluma, CA 94952.

A celebration of Harold’s life will be held at a later date.