Steven Arthur Little

Steve Little, age 72, passed on from this life in Bowie, Maryland on March 26, 2026 after a lengthy illness. For most of the past few decades he called Rockville, Maryland home.

Steve was born on September 28, 1953 in Evanston, Illinois, the first child of Dorothy Oetjen Little and Willits Burkhardt Little. The family lived in numerous locations in the Midwest and northern Virginia, settling in 1964 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where Steve graduated high school in 1971. He earned a BA in English Literature from Penn State University.

Steve started playing the piano when he was eight, but when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, he fell in love with the guitar. He was in his first band at 14, joined a working band and musicians' union at 15, and as soon as he graduated college he went on the road with his band. To Steve, music was as essential as eating and breathing. He loved playing at the Irish Inn at Glen Echo as the house band every Wednesday evening for many years.

He loved the Great American Songbook and found appreciative audiences in retirement homes, from independent living to memory care. He paired that work with his profession as an auctioneer, enjoying both kinds of work for about 30 years. Steve lived with intentional and genuine positivity and practiced yoga and meditation.

He touched many people with his music and his love. His one-man play, "Dementia Melodies: It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" premiered at Capital Fringe Festival in 2013, praised by critics as, "Often vivid and frequently moving...his stories give the show its big heart and a few good laughs. Easy to wish that Steve Little was the guy entertaining your folks" (The Washington Post, July 19, 2013).

Steve is survived by his beloved children: sons Jason Little (Bianca Little) and Brian Little (Sheila Tilert); brother James Little (Rachel Sawyer), sister Barbara Little (Paul Shackel); and a carefully chosen family of music partners and beloved friends far too numerous to mention.

To honor Steve's memory, please support live music and be kind and understanding with one another. Details of a memorial service will be announced at a later date.

"Grief is not an affliction, but a privilege." Patti Smith 1/29/2023

"Dance like no one is watching."