Joseph Little

Born on July 16, 1919 in Central, South Carolina, he was the son of Boyd William Little and Pearl Pritchard Little, who moved the family to Charlotte in 1921. In 1948, Joe married the former Peggy Anne Biggers, who predeceased him in February, 2000. In September 2003, he married the former Joyce Gasque Carmichael.

He attended Elizabeth School, the old Alexander Graham Junior High and Central High school, graduating in 1937. He went to Duke University to major in electrical engineering, but decided not to pursue this career and returned to Charlotte in 1939 to work for the Holly Smith Camera Shop, and later for Mill-Power Supply Co. In 1942, he took an Engineering Science and Management for Defense Course in electronics, which was given in Charlotte by N.C. State College. Upon graduation, he was recruited by the Norfolk Navy Yard to work there as a radar technician, where he worked from 1942 until after V-J Day in 1945.

Joe played flute and piccolo in the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra from 1934 until he retired from the orchestra in 1989 at age 70, after receiving the symphony President’s Award in 1984 for having played in the orchestra for fifty years. He was president of the Charlotte Musicians Association, Local 342 of the American Federation of Musicians, from 1981 until 2004, and was designated President Emeritus of Local 342. In 1945, he and the late Otto Schuster formed a partnership to operate a radio, record and appliance department in Efird’s Department Store. This was relocated in 1948, and later became known as Joe Little Hi-Fi Center, which he operated until he retired in 1996 at age 77.

Joe was a member of Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church since 1930. Both he and his wife Peggy had been members of the Official Board and were Communion Stewards for many years. He was formerly a board member of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and was a founding board member and musician of the Charlotte Pops Orchestra.

Survivors include his wife, Joyce; a stepdaughter, Joyce C. Brooks and husband, Linwood of Charlotte; a stepson, David B. Carmichael, Jr. and wife JoAnn of Menasha, WI; sisters-in-law, Thelma G. Lewis of Fayetteville, and Dot G. Maughan of Southern Pines; several cousins of Asheboro; several cousins in Georgia; and several grandchildren, including a special granddaughter, Yarrow Carmichael Rice of Wilmington.

A funeral service will be held today, Monday, October 15, 2012 at 2 p.m. at the Harry & Bryant Funeral Home Chapel, 500 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28207. The family will receive friends at Harry & Bryant from 1:00 – 1:45 p.m. prior to the service. Burial will be private in Elmwood Cemetery.

There will also be a memorial service at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at Aldersgate, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215. The family will receive friends after the service.

Memorials may be made to Aldersgate, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, NC 28215 or to Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church, 501 Hawthorne Lane, Charlotte, NC 28204.

Harry & Bryant Funeral Home is serving the family of Mr. Little.