William A. Little

William(Bill) A. Little, 95, of Lakewood passed away on May 23, 2018 after not being able to recover from heart surgery due to a heart attack while playing basketball. He is survived by his wife of 70 years Veronica Little. They have been Lakewood residents since 1962. They had six children: Daniel, David, Cathy(Little) Mortimer and husband Gary, Michael and wife Stephanie, Marian(Little) Kolstoe and husband Brad, and Nancy(Little) Rolls. Bill and Veronica were blessed with twelve grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren. The grandkids(g) and spouses are: Tim(g) and Sammi, Billy(g) and Ashley, Brooke, Elizabeth(g) and Eric, Michael, Peter, Keegan, Kristen(g) and Dan, Kari(g) and Chris, Patrick, John(g) and Harmony, Ingrid(g) and Aaron. The great grandchildren: Tyler, Isabelle, Riley, Rose, Waylon, Aberdeen, Osa, Elin and Emilia(twins), Violet, Margo, Adelahde, Raef and Maybelle. Born November 6, 1922 in Decatur, Nebraska to Naaman Pence Little and Nellie Agnes Magee. Billy, as he was known when little, was the youngest son of twelve children and the last of the twelve to die. He was a star athlete in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He loved football so much that he decided to go to Wayne State Teachers College to play football and to become a football coach. Unfortunately, the Second World War got in the way of achieving his desire to coach. He spent four years in the Army as a Master Sargent in charge of an anti-aircraft gun crew. He joined Patton’s army in Nancy, France and fought across France, Austria, and Germany. In later years after the war he received the French Medal of Honor from the French Government and joined thousands of other veterans at the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Before joining the fighting in France, Bill was selected to an All- Star Army football team that traveled playing other service teams across Western Europe and England. He was the starting quarterback. After the war in 1946, he moved to Sioux City, Iowa where he got married and started a family. He spent his entire working career in the transportation business. He first started working for Swift and Company in Sioux City and then got promoted to Traffic Manager and transferred to Chicago in 1960. After two years he was transferred to the Denver office. There the Little family lived in Lakewood from 1962. After leaving Swift he worked as a Sales Manager and General Manger in the trucking business and spent the last ten years working for the Monfort Meat Packing Company. While raising a family, he got a chance to coach his kids in Little League baseball and football where his teams rarely lost a game. After his kids moved on to high school and college, he seldom missed going to their games. When grandkids and great grandkids came along, you could always count on Grandpa Bill being there to support them and cheer them on. After retiring, he started playing Senior League sports. He played softball until he was 92 and basketball until he was 93. He also participated in the Senior Olympics for twenty years winning over 65 gold, silver, and bronze medals for softball, the discus, and various running events. Bill was active at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church for 55 years in various activities including food banks and the Knights of Columbus. Rosary at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at St. Bernadette Catholic Parish 7240 W. 12th Ave. Lakewood, Colorado 80214. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 30, 3018 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Bernadette Catholic Parish. Interment, with military honors, will take place at Ft. Logan National Cemetery. Donations can be made in Bill’s name and sent to the Knights of Columbus at St. Bernadette’s, 7240 West 12th Avenue, Lakewood, CO. 80214. Please share condolence messages and memories with the family below.