Charles Littlejohn

News Obituary Article

ATLANTA: C. Littlejohn, 80, engineer, civic activist

By DERRICK HENRY

As an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed Martin Corp., Charles Littlejohn helped design the C-130A Hercules military transport plane. As a political activist, he helped reduce the pension of former Georgia Gov. George Busbee.

The Georgia Tech graduate and Navy veteran began working for Lockheed in 1953 at its Burbank, Calif., plant as one of the draftsmen and engineers for the C-130A, said his daughter, Barbara Fultz of Richmond. After the design work was completed, he moved to the Atlanta area, working out of Lockheed's Marietta plant. He was a flight engineer for the first Hercules production flight in 1955.

"After the plane had been tested and was ready, my dad was part of the crew that flew around the world to demo the aircraft for people interested," his daughter said.

Before retiring from Lockheed in 1972, Mr. Littlejohn helped design the C-5A Galaxy, another military transport aircraft, she said.

The Alabama native did not slow down in retirement. "He was always designing or inventing something," his daughter said. He created a company called Cascade Industries Inc. to feature his inventions, including a portable outdoor shower he developed for military use and a firefighting system for high-rise buildings he co-designed with Henry Cook. Both were patented.

Charles Elbert Littlejohn, 80, of Atlanta, died Oct. 24 of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Mariner Health Center. The body was cremated. Memorial service plans will be announced. Wages & Sons Funeral Home, Stone Mountain, is in charge of arrangements.

During the 1980s, Mr. Littlejohn spent much of his time in civic activism.

"He was very energized by people who had a cause and were afraid to speak up or didn't know how," his daughter said. "He was a very detail-oriented person who could put down logic and reasoning behind a cause. He could come up with a plan."

In 1983, Mr. Littlejohn filed a lawsuit against George Busbee, claiming the former governor was receiving too high a pension and inappropriate early payments. A Gwinnett County Superior Court judge's ruling chopped that pension in half. Although an appeals court overturned the judge's decision on technical grounds, Mr. Busbee voluntarily gave up his plan of collecting early retirement pay.

Mr. Littlejohn lost as many fights as he won, yet he was unafraid to take on anyone.

In 1987, angered by a Georgia Power Co. rate increase request, he testified before the state Public Service Commission and tried to get the hearings halted. But a Fulton County Superior Court judge refused Mr. Littlejohn's request.

In 1989, Mr. Littlejohn tackled the Georgia Department of Transportation. Through the North Buckhead Civic Association, he sued to block construction on a Ga. 400 extension project, claiming that the rare red-cockaded woodpecker would be at risk. A hearing was held, but the Atlanta Audubon Society said no sightings of the bird in the area had ever been confirmed.

In letters to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published in the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Littlejohn criticized the Georgia Lottery, cable television prices, Fulton County taxes and utility monopolies.

At home, he built a 12-by-12-foot screened-in room on top of a spring in his back yard. He enjoyed bird watching and prided himself on keeping up a zoysa grass lawn "that looked like a carpet," his daughter said.

Survivors include his wife, Jane Littlejohn; two other daughters, Susan Littlejohn of Atlanta and Cynthia Collins of Nashville; and two granddaughters.

© 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution