It is probably safe to say that most people are unaware that a China Painting Society exists. But June A. Little of La Verne certainly knew. For 20 years, Ms. Little exercised her passion for the art and was active in the local society as an officer and historian and in the national society as well, helping to organize shows that occasionally took place at what was once the Red Lion Inn. 

“She had a great time,” said her son, David Little. “She was very active and loved to do China painting.”

Other types of art also intrigued and inspired Ms. Little including tile painting, sewing and quilting.

Ms. Little, most recently a resident of Hillcrest Homes in La Verne, died on April 6, 2009 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. She was 77.

She was born on December 27, 1931 in the rural town of Ada, Oklahoma. She grew up, along with her twin sister, helping on the family farm.

“You know the scene, there was the grandmother that would be there that would milk the cows in the morning and then make breakfast for the boys with the ladies,” said Ms. Little’s son.

Just prior to World War II, Ms. Little and her family moved to California and settled in Eagle Rock where she graduated from high school. At 16, at a Pasadena Civic Center dance, she met a slightly older gentleman who was just beginning college, Bruce William Little.

They were married on July 23, 1950.

“Going along with my dad’s normal impulsiveness, they eloped to Yuma, Arizona,” said their son.

For the first year of their marriage, Ms. Little and her husband enjoyed life in a 14-foot travel trailer.  During this era, she worked as a telephone operator while Mr. Little completed studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and worked as a journeyman carpenter.

In 1951, Ms. Little accepted a secretarial position with Lockheed, and her husband gained employment as an engineer at the same company shortly thereafter. They moved to Venice, followed by a 1954 move to Covina where they purchased their first home and brought a son into the world. At this time, Ms. Little retired from her secretarial position.

Ms. Little and her husband moved to Claremont in 1960 and brought 2 more children, daughters, into the family.

Throughout her 3 children’s young lives, Ms. Little enjoyed her homemaking role and was very active in their activities.  As the mother of a teenage football player, she loved watching the games and became involved in the Claremont High School Football Boosters, with which she would watch each game a second time at the weekly meeting.

“She loved going to those meetings,” said her son, the former football player.

Ms. Little enjoyed helping fellow booster members create the balloon arches used at games throughout the season.

“She had a lot of fond memories of that,” said her son.

With a daughter involved in drill team—just like she was during her high school days—Ms. Little was also part of the CHS Band Boosters.

Ms. Little’s daughter-in-law, Melanie Little, noted that her mother-in-law was very protective of her children—her son echoed this sentiment.

“She was fiercely loving and always made sure we were okay,” he said.

Ms. Little was also highly organized and pragmatic, rarely deviating from her traditional methods of getting things done. Housework, for example, was always completed in a predictable manner, with certain tasks done on certain days.

“She always had a plan, and she was very consistent,” said David Little.

In addition to delighting in her varied artistic endeavors, Ms. Little enjoyed antique shopping and, for a period, established a nook in a Pomona Antique Mall store where she sold her treasures.

Ms. Little is survived by her husband of 58 years, Bruce W. Little of La Verne; by her son and daughter-in-law, David and Melanie Little of Claremont; by her daughter, Liz Bovee of Rancho Cucamonga; by her daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Lloyd Scritsmier of Rancho Cucamonga; by her grandchildren, Samantha and Spencer Little, Lynn and Sarah Scritsmier and Westley and Ashley Bovee; and by her sister and brother-in-law, Joyce and Allen Beaufait.

Memorial services were held on April 14, 2009 at Hillcrest Homes in La Verne.