Extracted from http://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=45735&fh_id=10198

Dr. Lamar Little
(June 22, 1913 - June 7, 2006)

Funeral services for Dr. Lamar Eugene Little, age 92, of Winnsboro, Louisiana, will be held at 2:00 PM Sunday June 11, 2006 at First Baptist Church, Winnsboro with Reverends Marion Collier, Bobby Brown and Dr. J. Alan Miller officiating. Interment will follow the service in New Winnsboro Cemetery under the direction of Gill First National Funeral Home of Winnsboro. Dr. Lamar Little died at home following a lengthy illness. Dr. Little was a native of Winnsboro, Louisiana in Franklin Parish. The son of a Winnsboro physician, Dr. Eugene Samuel and Carrie Butler Little, Dr. Little was born June 22, 1913. Weighing only four pounds at birth, Dr. Little was a sickly child until high school. As a youth, he became Winnsboro's first Eagle Scout. He was the bugler of Camp Kiroli and also played the trumpet every Sunday at the First Baptist Church of Winnsboro.

He acquired his Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana where he double majored in Chemistry and Biology and graduated in 1934. He went on to study Dentistry at St. Louis University School of Dentistry and obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1939.

In June of 1941, he entered the Navy ranked Lieutenant (J.G.) and was sent to the Marine base in Parris Island, South Carolina for basic training. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he served as dentist aboard the Navy transport, USS St Michiel, operating from Seattle and Alaska out to the Aleutias Islands carrying troops and supplies. Later he was stationed in Brooklyn, New York, as Instructor and Oral Surgeon in a Residency Training Program. In 1944, he was back with the Marines and trained with the rocket battalion at Camp Pendleton, California, for the invasion of Iwo Jima. In 1945, he was assigned to a new ship, the USS Riverside.

After leaving the military service in 1946, he returned home to re-establish his dental practice at 610 Prairie Street in Winnsboro. While driving the Newlight area in Tensas Parish, he stopped to ask for directions and spotted a young girl, barefoot and wearing gingham dress with a big straw hat, hoeing potatoes. ``I didn't know her name, but she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen.'' After some persuading, Darlyn McCarty's parents allowed her to move to a boarding house in Winnsboro to work as Dr. Little's assistant. She began on March 5, 1948 and the pair married two years later on January 22, 1950. For over fifty years she served as a receptionist, insurance clerk, chair side assistant, mother, and wife.

Dr. Little then purchased a new home and furnishing for he and his new bride and started his family with the birth of three sons: Stephen Eugene, Charles McHenry, and John Thomas. Dr. and Mrs. Little's life revolved around his family and the dental office.

Dr. Little kept up his Navy reserve status by closing his practice in the summer and serving at various bases. He also kept up his professional training via continuing education.

Dr. Little has been recognized with numerous professional and leadership awards over the years. He maintained membership in the American Rifle Association, the Northeast Louisiana Archeological Society, the American Camilia Society, and the American Cut Glass Association. He was on staff at Franklin Parish Medical Center for years and was a member of the Academy of General Dentistry. He was recognized as a member of ``Who's Who'' in the South and Southwest in 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1976; he was listed in Personalities of the South in 1973 and 1974. He was an active member of V.F.W. Post No. 3155 and the American Legion Post No. 84 of Winnsboro, Louisiana.

Dr. Little was recognized by the Northeast Louisiana Dental Association for his 60 years of service. One of his proudest moments came on March 17, 2001 when his youngest son Dr. John Little D.D.S., presented him with a plaque on behalf of the Louisiana Dental Association for Distinguished Dental Service in the state of Louisiana for his outstanding career as a dentist. The LDA recently informed Dr. Little that he holds the honor as the longest practicing dentist in the United States. Sr. Little's code of ethics always put doing the right thing for his patients at the forefront of his dental practice. He never compromised his standards of quality of value. He maintained that living the ``Golden Rule'' would carry one far in life. Dr. Little, as did his father, always said ``I'd die if I quit''.

Dr. Little was proud of his Christian legacy. He accepted Christ as his Savior and was baptized at the age of nine, and was a member of First Baptist Church of Winnsboro. As a young adult, he believed that God had called him to preach, which was his primary reason for attending Louisiana College. He proudly recalled to his family having preached four sermons. But at his father's insistence, he went into the dental profession. Dr. Little, an avid collector, prized his collection of over 85 antique Bibles that were over 100 years old, several of these being parallel Bibles.

Dr. Little leaves behind his wife of 56 years, Darlyn McCarty Little and three sons and their families: Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Little, Trent, and Jennifer of Orlando, Florida; Mr. and Mrs. Charles McHenry Little, Candace, and Denver of Hot Springs, Arkansas; Dr. and Mrs. John Little, Emily, Laura Katy and Mr. and Mrs. Jed Robinson of Winnsboro, LA; cousins Elaine Scriber and Cheryl Alice Mulhearn of Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Though the last year of his life was marred by poor health, Dr. Little enjoyed his collecting hobbies, his children and grandchildren up to the moment of his death. He often told visitors and loved ones ``without his family, life would be nothing.''

Pallbearers for the service include: Mike Dolecheck, William C. Holcomb, Joe Walters, Dr. James Ogden, Dr. Robert Woods, Pete Sanders, Dr. Edward Cascio, Denver Little, Jed Robinson, and Justin Lorio. Honorary pallbearers are members of the Northeast Louisiana Dental Association, the American Legion Post 84 and VFW Post 3155.