Marian P. Little

Marian Pearl Little (née Whittleman) of Glendale, AZ, passed away peacefully in her sleep due to natural causes on November 2, 2017. She was 98.

Marian was born on August 19, 1919, in Alton, IL, to parents Willian E. Whittleman and Mabel G. Whittleman (née Smith). She married Wilbur "Bib" Little on September 8, 1943, in Alton. During their marriage, Wilbur's occupations as a chemical factory worker and a stationary steam engineer led them to Muskogee, OK, Beaumont, TX, and Ashtabula, OH, finally retiring in 1972 in Cedar Park, TX. Marian and Wilbur had two children: Gloria Francine in 1947 and Terry Lee in 1951.

A passionate and highly skilled musician, Marian began playing the violin at eight years of age. She studied under world-class violinist Elyse Ahle, formerly the concertmaster with the Smetana Symphony in Pisek, Czech Republic. Under Miss Ahle's direction, Marian joined the Alton Symphony and quickly settled into first chair. One of her favorite memories took place in a 1938 radio broadcast of the Alton Symphony in St. Louis, MO, when Miss Ahle allowed Marian to borrow her priceless Stradivarius violin to play her "Flight of the Bumblebee" solo during the broadcast.

Marian is survived by daughter Gloria Parcell and son Terry Little, also of Glendale; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by husband Wilbur as well as by siblings William, Ruth, Edison, Nelson, Eva, and Lester.

Marian will be memorialized in a private ceremony at West Resthaven Funeral Home on November 7, and laid to rest at Resthaven Park next to her beloved Wilbur.