Stephen A. (Steve

Stephen A. (Steve) Little departed this life for Heaven on Friday, July 26, 2013 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He was born in Dayton, Ohio on September 17, 1941 to P. Evans and Lila B. (Herndon) Little. He grew up in Warrensburg, Missouri, graduating from Warrensburg High School in 1960.
In 1962, he enlisted with the Missouri Army National Guard, and served from 1962-1968 in various active and reserve capacities. After his service in the National Guard, he obtained his commercial pilots license, and moved to Mound City, Missouri to work as a private pilot. In 1971 he moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma to co-own a local business. Over the next several years, he held a variety of occupations in sales and training. He was a member of the Jaycees and served as the Exalted Ruler of the BPOE 1859 in 1975-76 and was active in the club until his passing.
In 1979, he married Betsy Barham Musselman in Stillwater, Oklahoma. They made their home in Perkins, Oklahoma.
In 1984, he began teaching at then Indian Meridian Vo-Tech as a machine tool and die instructor. He loved teaching and making a difference in peoples lives through education. He was honored by earning Outstanding First Year Teacher at IMVT in 1984-85.
In 1989 earned a B.S. in Trade and Industrial Education from Oklahoma State University. He quickly followed with a M.S. in the same field in 1991.
He made a career of teaching teens and adults machining and became a liaison to many of Stillwaters industrial companies for training and tooling for production. In later years, he served as Assistant Superintendent of Business and Industry Services for Meridian Technology Center, and then as Director of Technical Training. He retired from MTC full time in 2004, but continued to substitute teach until 2012. In 2004 he was honored with the CBITS/AKACTE Arch Alexander Award and the CBITS/OKACTE Silver Key Award for his lifetime of service educating Stillwaters industrial workforce. In 2004-2006 he worked as a manufacturing engineer for MerCruiser, finally retiring completely in 2006.
Steve was a lover of sports. Whatever his current hobby was, he believed in not just participating, but excelling at it. He was a state champion trap shooter, a tournament fisherman, a stunt pilot, raced dirt bikes, and later in life, became a talented wood worker, and senior league champion golfer. In recent years, his love for golf dominated his hobbies and motivated a move to a home on the golf course, complete with OSU orange personalized golf cart.
Steve is survived by wife, Betsy of the home; sons and daughters-in-law, Ray Evans and Sarah Little, Michael and Kristi Musselman both of Stillwater; sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Miguel Sandoval; niece, Olivia of Los Angeles, Ca.; adopted daughter and son-in-law, Jeanie and Jeff Zagar; as well as grandchildren, Blake and Connor Little, Morgan and Kori Musselman, and Kyler Zagar; many friends; cousins; and extended family.
A celebration of Steves life will be held on Saturday, August 3, at 2:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Perkins, Oklahoma with Brother Kip Heatley, officiating. Family will greet visitors after the service in the Fellowship Hall.
Honorary Pall Bearers will be Larry Jacob, Danny Lott, Bill Musselman, Roger Finkle, Jimmy Williams, and members of the Cimarron Trails Senior Golf Association.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Steves name to First United Methodist Church, Perkins, OK; or Judith Karman Hospice sent in care of Palmer Marler Funeral Home, 5106 North Washington, Stillwater, OK 74075.
Condolences can be made to the family via our web site of www.pmcfh.yahoo.com.