A Life Well Lived

I just passed the four-year mark of George’s homegoing. What follows are remembrances interlaced with the eulogy I wrote for my dear husband.

Redding - On Feb. 1, 2008, good and faithful servant, George Earl Little, went home to be with Jesus after fighting a valiant battle with cancer.

He was born to Elois Reno and George Payne Little in Memphis, Tennessee, January 19, 1935. When he was ten, George was led to the Lord by a dedicated Sunday school teacher. In high school, he excelled in baseball, basketball and football, finishing his senior year with a fabulous season. In 1953, he graduated from Horn Lake High School in Mississippi, later served in the Naval Air Reserve for 4 years, and attended the University of TN, majoring in Business Administration.

Over the years, George served as deacon, finance chairman, building chairman, teacher of young marrieds and children’s Sunday school classes. Together we discipled married couples and served on prayer teams as well as our church council. George further shared his wisdom and compassion in men’s ministry, as home group leader, and mentoring young men, within both Baptist and Foursquare churches.

Because he rarely talked about himself, few knew that George helped start two Baptist churches in Appleton, WI and Youngstown, OH, as well as being a significant part of the planting of River Valley Foursquare Church in Redding.

As a young man, George worked for Paramount Studios in Memphis, distributing films to local theaters. It birthed a life-long love of movies that spawned a huge collection of DVDs, and made him the go-to guy for movie questions in a game of Trivial Pursuit. Later employed by The The UpJohn Pharmaceutical Company, George began his career unloading trucks in Memphis. His promotions took him to Portland, OR, Atlanta, GA, Carle Place, NY, and finally to Hollywood, CA, where he retired in 1990 as the Regional Distribution Manager—a 33-year journey. I began working at the Upjohn distribution center in Carle Place three months after George arrived there. It was love at first sight for me, but he took a little longer.

During his years of service at the NY Distribution Center, he won the William C. Upjohn Prize for distinguished service to the company.

He never bragged about it (or anything), but he was thrilled to win the award. I remember I cooked him a special dinner to celebrate and even made chocolate mousse. He received dozens of letter congratulating him for this achievement.

We were married on July 24, 1982, at the First Baptist Church in Freeport. Because George had been transferred to Hollywood, we honeymooned from coast to coast, stopping at--among other places--Rocky Mt. National Park, Big Rock Candy Mt. and the Grand Canyon.

Soon after we married, grandchildren began arriving. He loved getting down on all fours and playing with them. He never worried about appearing silly or foolish, and did a great chimpanzee imitation.

During the years before moving to Redding, we traveled to Alaska, Hawaii, Europe, Australia and Israel. We took lots of pictures and shared wonderful experiences, like meeting a couple from Memphis in Interlaken, Switzerland, who were members of the same church George had attended.

When we arrived in Redding in 1996, George settled into working on his golf game, volunteering with Kiwanis and enjoying the beauty of the area. We loved exploring the North State as well as our little community. We found it hard to leave our backyard with its views of Mt. Shasta, Lassen and Shasta Bally. Sometimes, when it snowed, we’d sit on our back porch wrapped in blankets drinking hot chocolate and watching deer wander through our lot. There were meteor showers to observe, stars to admire from the hot tub and animal antics to make us laugh.

When it rained, I would find him on the front porch watching the storm and smelling the air. If he was out in the yard when geese flew over, he would call, "Patty, Patty," until I came out to see what he wanted. He’d grin and point up at the birds flying over. He loved those geese . . . except at the golf course.

A year after our son, Joe, married lovely Laurie, our first grandson came into the world. The grand daughters were all grown up, but now came grandsons to enjoy and play with.

We were married 25 years, before he died and left behind daughters, Marcia and Sheryl, son, Joseph, granddaughters, Ashley, Cami, Samantha and Whitney, grandsons, Samuel, Theodore, and Franklin. George also has five brothers, two sisters, and many nieces and nephews. Since his passing, God has added great grandchildren Keely, Aaro and Jolson. He would’ve loved playing with them, too, acting silly and being a wonderful Papa.

A crowd filled the sanctuary of River Valley Church for his memorial service. Despite the stormy weather, friends travelled over 500 miles to be there. Several told touching stories about my wonderful husband, how much they loved him and would miss him. Joe’s remembrance was particularly poignant, sharing what it was like when he first met the man who’d become his stepfather. I had a DVD made with photos of George through his life, using some of his favorite music (he loved  Elvis), and we all watched before feasting on peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwiches and Snickers bars washed down with diet Dr. Pepper in tribute to George’s dietary preferences.

Despite his many achievements, George wanted to be remembered most as a Godly man who loved his family. His love for Jesus and his faith in all His promises, never failed. He wondered about heaven all the time, and loved the song ""I Can Only Imagine". A few days before he died he said, "I wonder what kind of clothes you wear in heaven."

George Little was a unique man who lived a good life with few regrets. He smiled pretty much all the time, but neither did he hide his tears when touched by sadness. This happened every time one of his children left after a visit with us. He taught me a lot about people and finances and integrity and made me laugh every day. He taught me to give generously and to be a good steward of all that God gave us. He loved me like no one else, and there’s a hole in the world now that he's gone.