Obituary of William Lyle Little

June 22, 1920 – January 19, 2013 Our dear Bill passed away peacefully surrounded by family at the age of 92. Remembered lovingly by his beloved wife of 67 years “Jeanie”, his sister Patsy, children and spouses Monty (Cheryl), Sunny (Lynn), Joe (Sandy), 9 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren and numerous relatives and friends. He was predeceased by his parents Karl and Helen Little and his brother Tom and sister Gerry. Bill was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah in a loving home where a down and out guy traveling the rails or a military man on leave could always find a hot meal. His first job, as a teenager, was delivering telegrams for Union Pacific for a whopping $10 a week. While attending the University of Utah in 1939 he met Inez Jean Preece, a beautiful shapely brunette who caught his eye. They were sitting next to each other in Speech Class when Bill, with a full head of dark wavy hair, made the first move. Jean had just finished delivering a stirring speech to the class when Bill, always the smooth operator, said to her “that was very good Miss Preece but donʼt you think it was a little over done.” Weʼre very lucky mom gave him a second chance. Jean, a very gifted piano player, would often play songs from the Hit Parade on the Grand Piano in the Student Union building. One day while playing “It Had To Be You” she looked up to see that stuck-up Bill Little leaning on the other end of the piano winking at her. Well as they say, the rest is history. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1941 and was stationed in Pearl Harbor during the Second World War. Although they were separated by an ocean he would often send her Red Roses, which was immortalized in a song written by Jean called “Thereʼs Always Red Roses”. After Pearl he was sent to New York City to attend Officer Training School but instead of re-enlisting he opted to marry Jeanie in New York on November 3, 1945. Then in January of 1947 their first son Monty arrived, followed by Sherry (Sunny) in 1949 and Joe in 1956 while living in Utah. Bill graduated from Columbia University in New York and pursued a life in publishing and public relations. He worked for CORONET as well as TIME & LIFE Magazine and later was the editor of the Utah Fish and Game Magazine. In 1964 he was asked to help launch a new company in Vancouver, British Columbia. He fell in love at once with this beautiful province and when asked to stay on as their Vice President of Public Relations, he eagerly moved his family from Bountiful, Utah to West Vancouver. Bill went on to be in charge of public relations at Capilano College a position which he held until his retirement. He was a wonderful dancer and co-producer with Jeanie of award winning Road Shows, an avid fly fisherman, photographer, artist, poet, writer and humanist. Dad and Mom loved to travel seeing the sights and culture of Europe, Mexico and Hawaii. Bill truly loved people and everyone who met him remembered him fondly. A celebration of his life will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Saturday, February 2 at 10 am – 11750 207th Street, Maple Ridge. The family would like to thank Dadʼs wonderful Care Givers and in lieu of flowers, ask that donations be made to the Ridge Meadows Hospital or McKenney Creek Hospice.