John Myles / Submitted photo
BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago
John Myles had many hobbies, but most of all he loved spending time with his teenage daughters.
Myles, 45, was shot multiple times April 19 while in a vehicle outside his apartment in the 1900 block of West Rosehill Drive in the Edgewater neighborhood, authorities said. He died 10 days later at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.
Myles' niece, Katherine Myles, described her uncle as a "very happy person" who made friends easily.
Katherine Myles said her uncle taught her how to drive.
"When he got a new Firebird, he let me drive it," Katherine Myles said. "I almost crashed into a tree, but it was OK. He let me drive it again. He loved me that much."
John Myles liked cars and always drove new vehicles in high school as his part of a contract he kept with his parents to maintain good grades, Katherine Myles said.
In addition to his fondness for cars, Myles had a variety of other hobbies, she said.
John Myles taught himself how to play the trumpet, and would occasionally play at family gatherings, his niece said. He was also an abstract painter and an avid fan of the musician Prince and the Chicago Bears.
John Myles has worked the past 15 years sizing children's shoes at Nordstrom in Oakbrook, where he watched his customers grow up, she said.
A young woman he had fitted for shoes since she was a child came into the store recently and invited him to her wedding, she said.
Myles recently married the mother of his two teenage daughters.
"He was a good father. Anytime he got a chance to be with his daughters he would," Katherine Myles said.
John Myles' long-term goals were to sell his condo, buy a house and move his family in so they could have more space to be together. He wanted to send his daughters off to college and travel with his wife.
No one has been charged in his murder. Area North detectives are investigating.