Edward Little

Edward L. Little Sr. was born August 8, 1946, to Philip and Maxine Little in Toppenish, Washington. Maxine was a stay-at-home mom who worked occasionally at a grocery store. Philip worked in a grain elevator. Eddy grew up in Toppenish, but spent many summers with his grandparents in Halfway, Oregon. He enjoyed helping his grandpa mow the lawn, they went fishing, and had a business selling earthworms to local fishermen. During High School Eddy was a quiet young man, who competed on the wrestling team. He married Marcilene Northrup, and they had three children. Unfortunately, the marriage ended in divorce. In 1971 he joined the U. S. Army and achieved the rank of Specialist E4. His unit was called on to aid in the ground search for D. B. Cooper, who had hijacked a commercial airliner, parachuted into Southwest Washington, and was never found. He then deployed to Germany as a M16 marksman. His unit served with security at the 1972 Munich Olympics, following a terrorist attack, in which 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed by Palestinian terrorists. Also, while in Germany, Eddy visited the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, where General George S. Patton is buried. His enlistment ended in 1975. After returning home from the army, Ed went to work at Del Monte in Toppenish. On November 20, 1976 Eddy married Barbara Peterson. They had two daughters. The family moved to Grandview where Ed began a 28 year career as a supervisor at several different orchards in the lower Yakima Valley. A back injury with surgeries ended his orchard career. He then worked another 10 years at the Walmart distribution center as a Hyster driver before he retired. Ed’s greatest joy was his family, and being outside taking in the fresh air. He enjoyed working on word puzzles, and family get togethers. He worked in the yard and built a picnic tables for the family. He and Barb took deer hunting trips to the mountains, where Barb would spot the deer and Ed would shoot it. They made a great team. In later years they would travel to Arizona to visit their daughter Crystal. Ed passed away on December 16, 2022 following a long battle with lung disease and a heart attack. He was a tissue donor. Ed is survived by his wife Barbara and daughters Shelly Little, Crystal Little, and son Eddy Little Jr. (Diane), his sister Cathy Aguirre (Manuel), His mother-in-law Thea Voyles, three sisters-in-law, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his son Dean Little, daughter Elizabeth Little, his parents, sisters Paulette York, Vickie Goodno, and Phyllis Ward, and granddaughter Guadalupe Torres. A celebration of life will be held on August 5, 2023 at the V.F.W Post 3482 615 North Ave in Sunnyside, Washington. The Honor Guard will perform at 1 p.m. Reception following at V.F.W. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Edward Little, please visit our flower store.