Kenneth Keith Little

Kenneth Keith Little - February 2, 1921 – March 26, 2014 Kenneth Keith Little, 93, of Mesquite, Texas, passed away on March 26, 2014. Kenneth is preceded in death by parents Kenneth Keith Little, Sr. and Joan Bailey Little, and son John Kenneth Little. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mary Jones Little and daughters Majette Murrey and her husband James E. and Sue Coyne and her husband Steven, grandsons James K. Murrey and his wife Sarah, and Bennie J. Murrey, great granddaughter Eve Murrey, sister Joan Causey and a niece and three nephews. He was born at the St. Joseph’s Hospital, which later evolved into the present Mercy Hospital. Most of his early schooling was completed in San Diego: McKinley grammar school, Woodrow Wilson Junior High, St. Augustine High, with graduation from the former Brown Military Academy in Pacific Beach. He entered San Diego State College, and then completed his studies at the University of California, Berkeley with a BS degree in Agriculture Economics in 1949. Returning to San Diego, he was employed by a bank and then San Diego County, both for a short period of time before working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Joining the National Guard, the 251st Coast Artillery Regiment (AA), “San Diego’s Own”, in 1939 he was called into Federal Service a year later, “for a period of one year”. Five years and four days later, he was honorably discharged with the rank of S/SSgt after serving nearly three years in the Pacific Theater, including the attack on Pearl Harbor. This discharge was from “active” service. While at the University of California, he enrolled in the senior ROTC program and was commissioned in 1949. He later retired from the Army Reserve in the grade of Lt. Col. after 34 years of total military service. In 1951 he started with the San Diego County Department of Agriculture. In 1972, he was appointed County Agricultural Commissioner. Three months later, the County Department of Weights and Measures was combined with the agricultural department and he served as the head of the expanded department until retiring in 1983 after serving in several different capacities and positions. Upon retirement from his position with the department, he received many awards, among them: San Diego County Farm Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture, San Diego County Delegation to the State Legislature, San Diego County Board of Supervisors, and numerous personal letters of appreciation from State and County farm organizations. Following his retirement from the county, Mr. Little volunteered for the Master Gardener program with the County Farm and Home Extension Service.As a docent for the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, he enjoyed taking fifth grade students through the museum and speaking to them about Operation Lifesaver, a national railroad safety organization.Additionally, he found time to work in the National Guard Museum at the San Diego Armory. He was a member of the California agricultural Commissioners Association, California Sealers of Weights and Measures Association, Model Railroad Association, 251st Reunion Association, Reserve Officers Association, Pearl Harbor Survivors, and American Legion. Ken and Mary moved to Texas in 2003 to be with their daughters and families who had moved to the area during the preceding years. Internment is at the National Cemetery, Dallas.