Edward Charles Little

September 28, 1926 - August 16, 2014 Edward Charles Little, recently retired President of West Basin Municipal Water District and longtime owner of Ed Little Auto Service in Culver City, died peacefully on August 16, 2014 at the age of 87. Recognized as a visionary Board member, Ed's twenty-five years of service with West Basin included two terms as President and fourteen years on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board. His interest in water began in the 1950s when he worked to annex Culver City into West Basin's service area. He was appointed to the Water Resources and Reclamation Advisory Commission in the 1960s. While on West Basin and Met Boards beginning in 1989, he was instrumental in the research and development of wastewater recycling and water conservation as additional sources of locally-controlled and reliably-sourced water. In recognition of his efforts, in 2007 the West Basin Board renamed its El Segundo plant the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility, which is the largest of its kind in the world. Born to Ernest R. Little and Hannah B. Hamilton on September 28, 1926 in Los Angeles, Ed graduated from Fairfax High School and after serving in the U.S. Navy, earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California. Ed established Ed Little Auto Service in 1951, which still operates in the same Culver City location by his son, Bob. In 1992 ELAS was recognized with the Outstanding Business of the Year Award by the Culver City Chamber of Commerce. Ed married Elaine W. Burgess in 1950 and made their home of nearly fifty years in Culver City raising their three children, Linda, Patti and Bob. Weekends were for golfing with his Scottish buddies and his oldest brother Bob, and tinkering in his home garage. The family enjoyed waterskiing excursions to La Ballona Creek, lakes Piru, Castaic, and Nascimiento, a houseboat vacation on the Delta, and many trips to the Colorado River. Ed's life-long dedication to his beloved Culver City is legendary with his enduring involvement in both civic government and service organizations. He was elected Councilman from 1966-70, a founding member of the CC Jaycees, and an active member of the CC Chamber of Commerce, CC Historical Society, and CC Sister City Committee. He was a Paul Harris Fellow and past-President of the Culver City Rotary Club, past-President of Southern California Hemophilia Foundation, Board member of Culver Palms YMCA, and Charter President of Culver Palms Y's Men's Club. He was an avid supporter of the conservation efforts of Heal the Bay and Friends of La Ballona, as well as Friends of CC Youth Health Center. In 1965 he was recognized by the Culver City Chapter of the Jewish War Veterans as Citizen of the Year. After the passing of his wife, in 2001 Ed married long-time family friend Helen Nelson with whom he shared an active life of carefree bike rides, theater nights, and culinary adventures. Together they cruised the globe including the Caribbean, the Baltics, the Mediterranean, the British Isles, and Asia. Ed's dedication to water issues continued with his impassioned Met sponsored water education trips to the Delta and Colorado River where participants left in awe of the intricacies of how water is delivered to southern California. Ed liked spending time with Helen's daughter, Cassandra, and her family in historic Richmond, VA where his fervent patriotism was brought to life with the beauty, reenactments, and monuments of America's birthplace. Having retired from West Basin in May due to failing health, Ed and Helen moved to the Richmond area to enjoy the slower pace of southern living. However, ten short weeks later Ed passed peacefully, surrounded by his loving family. Ed is survived by his wife Helen and her daughter Cassandra Nelson; his three children, Linda Groves, Patti Grammatis (Yannis), Bob Little (Teena); grandchildren Lacey Loveland, Heidi Little, Kosta Grammatis, Steven Little (Jessica); Rechelle Murillo (Antonio), Kelli Cartwright (Shane), Dylan Waggoner (Eugena), Brooke Waggoner, Jade Nelson, Jasmine Ramirez (Jonathan); brother Robert Little; sister-in-law Ruth Little; five great-grandchildren; numerous nephews and nieces. The family requests donations to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America in memory of Edward Little at www.alzfdn.org or by calling 866-232-8484.