George William “Bill” Little, Jr., 82, died at his home near Hartford, KY on December 1, 2018. The cause of death was brain cancer.
He was born and raised in the idyllic village of Brecksville, OH to the late George William Little, Sr. and Alma Storm, until the family relocated to Owensboro, KY when Bill was 17 years old. His Bachelor’s Degree is from Kentucky Wesleyan College and after earning a Masters Degree from Indiana University, he entered a career in secondary education followed by a second career serving as Chief Executive Officer of Rosehill and Elmwood Cemetery. He was the Dean of the American Cemetery Association’s College for Cemetery Executives and a Certified Cemetery Executive who achieved national recognition by serving on the Board of the American Cemetery Association representing small cemetery operations across the US.
All his life he was involved with charitable endeavors: Optimist International’s bicycle program for underprivileged children, Rotary International, President of the Highland Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, a Board Member of the Boy Scouts of America, a 12-year member of the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Directors, President of the Daviess County Audubon Society, President of the Kentucky Audubon Society, an environmental educator in Daviess and Ohio County, and for 14 years he served on the Board of the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund dubbed “Nature License Plates” as Treasurer and Vice-Chairman. That Fund has been responsible for the protection in perpetuity of 100,000 acres of unique landscapes all across the Commonwealth such as the land acquired for the Greenbelt in Owensboro, the Ohio County Park, and over 600 acres of wetlands at Audubon State Park in Henderson.
He was a philanthropist choosing as beneficiaries of the Brenda Bailey and George William Little, Jr. Charitable Remainder Unitrust: Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, Western Kentucky University, Planned Parenthood, and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.
He was predeceased by his beloved step-sister, Mary Katherine McFadden and is survived by his wife Brenda Bailey; his son, George Geoffrey; a sister, Patricia Sutton; a nephew, Andrew McFadden, Andy’s children, Angela Carlos and Todd McFadden, and the McFadden great-grandchildren, his precious Labradoodle Daisy, and his one-man-lap-cat Willie who is keeping vigil beside his laptop computer waiting for his friend to return.
There will be a newspaper announcement for the Memorial Celebration of Bill’s life at a later date which will be held at the Unitarian Church in Owensboro followed by inurnment of his ashes at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati, OH where the American Association erected a monument bearing his name as one of the National Board of Directors at its Centennial Celebration.
The family suggests that anyone who wishes to make donation in his memory choose the Friends of Audubon at John James Audubon State Park, 3100 US Hwy 41, Henderson, KY 42420.