Steven W. "Lil Steve" Little

Steven W. Little "Lil Steve" was born July 13th, 1958. An East Side Aurora boy born & bred lost his fight with cancer after 2 years on April 17th, 2025. He attended St. Nicholas school, then Simons Jr. High & East Aurora High.
He began working at Rainbow Bakery as a dough mixer right after high school for 20 years & then started as a welder for Caterpillar graduating to axle assembly for 18 years until his forced retirement in 2018. Finally marrying the love of his life, Laurie Dunn, after dating for almost 15 years in 2020 and lived very happily ever after.
He was an avid mountain/trail biker that didn't consider it a "real" ride if you didn't go 20 miles. He rode the Meltdown in Palos Hills 7 times and was very disappointed when the race was cancelled due to Covid, He was never able to ride it again. He loved meeting up with his brother to watch trains, and was an "N" scale modeler of the CB&Q railroad. Steve loved everything train related. He saved all his quarters to buy train engines & other rail cars. In 2012, it was a dream come true to ride the original Nebraska Zephyr out of Chicago Union Station to MO and back. Steve was a member of the Burlington Route Historical Society. He loved going to the Spring & Fall meetings & swap meets to meet up with other train enthusiasts. In recent years, he totally enjoyed Blues Jam night at the Aurora Athletic Club for the summer. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of Rock & Roll and Blues music, he loved anything Alligator Records.
He is survived by his wife Laurie, mother Elaine, brother Rick (Tracie) & sisters Connie Smith (Marty), Sue Laden (Scott), two aunts; Beth Little of Aurora & Karen Stewart of Arizona, three children; Jenny Salazar (Adrian), Kenny Bauer & Eric Bauer (Sabrina), eight grandchildren, three great grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his father William (Bill), Uncles Bob, Gary & George Little, Bob, Edward, Richard & Jerry Watgen, his cousin Dennis Watgen, and nephew Joshua Laden.
The family would like to express their gratitude to all the workers at the Advocate Aurora Infusion and Radiation Centers, as well as the Lighthouse Hospice.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday April 29th 2025 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at THE DALEIDEN MORTUARY, 220 North Lake Street Aurora, IL 60506, 630-631-5500. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to WDCB Jazz radio 90.9 out of College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, wdcb.org & Illinois Railroad Museum in Union, Illinois, irm.org.
Please visit our interactive website at www.daleidenmortuary.com to leave condolences for Steve's family or sign the guest book.