William Donald Little

On Saturday, June 13th, 2009, William Donald Little passed away at 10:00am leaving behind his wife of 16 years Rosa Castillo-Little, his step-daughter, Carmen Boldon, step-son, Rolando Castillo, whom he lived with in their home in Fullerton,CA, and his daughter, Judy, and his son, Jim. William "Bill" Little was taken to the emergency room at St. Judes Hospital on Friday, June 5th, 2009 and subsequently was transfered to the Placentia-Linda Hospital in Placentia, CA that afternoon. Due to complications from his Congestive Heart Failure, (CHF), condition and medical treatment, it was determined at that time that he was suffering from pneumonia and renal, (kidney) failure, and was placed in the ICU area of the hosptial. On Thursday, June 11th, Bill was released from the ICU at P.L.H. by the hospital staff, and transfered again to a Rehabilitation and Care Facility in La Habra, CA where, on Saturday, June 13th he passed away. Bill lived a very full and rich life, according to his words, and he wanted to leave this world knowing he did the best he could. I believe he did just that. From his early years he learned to play the piano and the ukulele. He had a unique ability to make people laugh, and he loved to be around people. He loved story telling and could sit for hours and converse on subjects he enjoyed. Everywhere he'd go he had a natural ability to connect with people, and leave them with a smile and a lasting impression. He learned how to fly a small Piper Cub airplane as a young boy in his small home town of Hope, Arkansas which lead him to enlisting in the Air Force at the ripe old age of 19 in 1950. Bill had the ranking of Staff Sergeant during the Korean War, and he received an honorable discharge in 1954 along with a Good Conduct and National Defense Service medals. While in the service he met his first wife, Dorothy, and they were married in 1953. They adopted two children during their marriage, one son named James Michael, and one daughter named Judy Ann. In his later years, Bill tried his hand at acting in a couple of "extra" roles in a made for TV movie with Robert Urich in the early 90's. Bill was a bit of a ham, and he truly enjoyed being a part of that "scene" as he loved to entertain and interact with people in general. More recently, he was married in 1993 to his current wife, Rosa, and his last business endeavor was with California Financial Agencies as the Vice President of Marketing. Bill has been active in the American Legion, Post 142, Fullerton Chapter, and attended the meetings regularly up until a few years or so. That is when his life took a turn for the worse. During the past three years Bill was involved in two automobile accidents which apparantly were the things that hit him hardest physically. He wasn't the same after those incidents, and, subsequently, his health condition became much worse. His mental state-of-mind always stayed strong and sharp, but his body was growing weaker from that point on. The past few weeks Bill's condition was at a point where he was too weak and couldn't receive the heart valve surgery he so desperately needed to help keep him alive. The doctors had stated that Bill had a leaky heart valve which they needed to go in and repair, but he wouldn't have survived the surgery due to his pneumonia, kidney failure, below normal blood pressure levels, difficulty swallowing, and the fact that he wasn't eating solid food for the most part which was weakening him even more everyday. He was at peace with it all for the most part in the end, and was fairly calm the last day or so of his life. Thank you for visiting this website obituary dedicated to the honor and memory of Wild Bill Little, as he would on occasion refer to himself as. I welcome and encourage anyone who would like to share their thoughts, feelings or stories of their experiences with Bill under the guest book tab. The enlightenment and insight shared will be greatly appreciated, and another way to discover more about his life that was in his view cut too short. And, as in the parting words Bill would often say in life, "Keep on Truckin", and, "May the Good Lord Take a Liking to Ya!"I was told that one of his favorite songs is "Amazing Grace", and the moving and meaningful lyrics from the song have been placed below for you to read as a reminder of it's beautiful words:Amazing Grace! how sweet the soundThat saved a wretch like meI once was lost, but not am foundWas blind but now I see`Twas grace that taught my heart to fearAnd grace my fears relievedHow precious did that grace appearThe hour I first believedThrough many dangers, toils, and snaresI have already come`Tis grace that brought me safe thus farAnd grace will lead me homeThe Lord has promised good to meHis word my hope securesHe will my shield and portion beAs long as life enduresAnd when this flesh and heart shall failand mortal life shall ceaseI shall possesswithin the valea life of joy and peaceWhen we`ve been there ten thousand yearsBright, shining as the sunWe`ve no less days to sing God`s praiseThan when we first begunThe small sampling pictures that are displayed under the "Images" tab, shows Bill in different phases of his life. Unfortunately, these were the only pictures that were available at the time to use for this display. One shows him with his current wife, Rosa, one is with his daughter, Judy, and one is with his granddaugter, Brittney. It also shows Bill with his military buddies while he was enlisted, his campaign sign when he was running for city council when he lived in Brea, and the pictures of his childhood home in Little Rock, AR along with a few others. Enjoy the short walk down memory lane with Bill.