Obituary of William Thomas Little

Altamont, NY- William Thomas “Bill” Little, 74, of Altamont, died unexpectedly on Thursday March 26, 2015. Bill was born in Johnstown, New York on September 8, 1940, son of the late Samuel T. Little and Genevieve Kasak Little. Bill was a long time resident of Scotia-Glenville, but has resided in Altamont for the last several years. He was educated in Schenectady Public Schools and attended the University of California at Berkeley as well as William and Mary College in Virginia. Bill served a total of 17 years in the Marine Corps, joining the regular Marines in 1957 to 1968. Bill served 3 -13 month tours during Vietnam. It was during this time, Bill received a Purple Heart. While on active duty, Bill received numerous campaign ribbons. From 1974 to 1981, he served in the reserves. He was honorably discharged as a Gunnery Sergeant. After military service, Bill held several different positions throughout his life. First, he held various assignments with the Golub Corporation. Then was employed by Springfield Sugar and Products Company (Sweetlife) as a transportation manager. He was then a general manager for Distribution Unlimited, Inc. Bill was a senior operations consultant for Worldwide Chain Stores. Before he retired in 2003, he was a senior consultant and consulting manager at Manhattan Associates, Inc. While he was employed by Worldwide Chain Stores and Manhattan Associates, Bill became a worldwide traveler. Bill was a passionate chess enthusiast. He became interested in the game at age 10. He was involved in many tournaments resulting in trophies, and earning the title of Capital District Chess Champion for a number of years. He shared his love of the game and taught chess to grade school children. Bill was a member of the Schenectady, Albany and Saratoga Chess clubs. In addition to chess, Bill was an avid reader, loved history, enjoyed cooking, a wine enthusiast and a marathon runner. Bill loved Scottish and Irish folk music, and was a mentor to his family as well as others. On September 24, 1966, Bill married the former Marysuzanne “Sue” Baccari, of Guilderland, together sharing a union of 22 years. After separating for 14 years, Bill and Sue remarried on their original anniversary date in 2002, sharing an additional 12 years. Besides his wife, Bill is survived by his son, Bartolomeo Thomas “Benny” Little, of Altamont, stepson Mark J. Chiarello of Winston-Salem, NC, beloved grandsons, Kevin Little, of Scotia and Jacob Little, of Rotterdam. Bill is also survived by a brother, Samuel T. (Dana) Little of Houston, TX, sister-in-law, Rosemary (Don) Otis, of Rotterdam, as well as aunts, uncles, several nieces, nephews and cousins. Relatives and friends will be received on Tuesday, March 31st from 4PM until 6PM at the Bond Funeral Home, 1614 Guilderland Avenue (corner of Broadway) in Schenectady. A celebration of life service will commence at 6PM that same evening. UPDATE: The family wishes to invite their relatives and friends to pay final respects to Bill on what would have been his 75th birthday, this Tuesday, September 8, at 10 a.m., in Memory Gardens, Colonie. Bill will be laid to rest with military honors. If you wish to remember Bill in a special way, please make a memorial donation in his memory to PTSD Survivors of America, P.O. Box 360496, Cleveland, OH 44136 or online at: ptsdsurvivorsofamerica.org The family has entrusted Bill’s care to be co-arranged by the Riverview Funeral Home and Simple Choices Cremation. To express condolences online, please visit Bill’s everlasting memorial tribute page at: www.SimpleChoicesCremation.com