NORTH MANCHESTER – Norman C. Little, 91, of North Manchester, died peacefully at 5 p.m. July 26, 2012, in his residence, following a short illness. He was born June 27, 1921, in Huntington, to Willard and Emma Murray Little. On March 15, 1942, at Walnut Street Church of the Brethren, he married his beloved and faithful partner of 70 years, Eileen Metzger, who survives in North Manchester. He was a 1939 graduate of Chester High School, North Manchester, where he was a member of the state winning 4-H/FFA Livestock Judging Team. He was a lifelong farmer in the Bippus and North Manchester area, and his farming operation was twice honored as a tour stop on the Northern Indiana Farm Management Association Tour. He was an active community leader, serving 24 years on the Wabash County Fair Board, 20 of those years as swine superintendent and on the 4-H Fair Sale Committee, as well as serving as past president of the Wabash Fair Board Association, the Wabash Extension Advisory Council and board and the 4-H Council. He was a member of the Wabash County Pork Producers Association, where he served as president. He was a past chairman of the Wabash County ASCS Committee, where he served 23 years and was a member of the Farm Bureau, serving 30 years on the Wabash County Beacon Credit Union Credit Committee. He was a long-time member and past president of the North Manchester Rotary Club and had served on the Board of Directors of Timbercrest Senior Living Community, North Manchester, and on the Wabash County Hospital Building Board. He was a 21-year member of the National Belgian Draft Horse Association and was an active member of the West Manchester Church of the Brethren where he served as past chairman of the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Board and the Board of Stewards and then a member of the Eel River Community Church of the Brethren when it consolidated with West Manchester. His passions were his family, his farm and his Belgian Draft horses, of which he enjoyed owning, working with and breaking the horses, and then selling them to as far away as Quebec, Canada, and Disney World. Also surviving are his beloved family of two children, Barbara (and spouse Don) Peters, Fort Wayne, and Ted (and spouse Lisa) Little, North Manchester; three grandchildren, Jamie (and spouse Greg) Mosier and Brad (and spouse Kara) Peters, all of Fort Wayne, and Nate (and spouse Holly) Little, Indianapolis; six great-grandchildren: Drew, Megan and Noah Mosier and Allison, Austin and Avery Peters, all of Fort Wayne; and two brothers, Richard (and spouse Phyllis) Little, North Manchester, and Robert (and spouse Betty) Little, Jacksonville, Fla. He was preceded in death by his stepmother, Audra Bolinger Little, and a sister, Helen Conrad. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at McKee Mortuary, 1401 Ind. 114W, North Manchester. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, North Manchester. Calling is from 4 to 8 p.m Monday at the funeral home. ***** Memorials may be made to Wabash-Miami Home Health Care and Hospice, 400 Ash St., Suite B, Wabash, IN 46992; or to Eel River Community Church of the Brethren Friends In Need Fund, 2507 E. Ind. 14, Silver Lake, IN 46982. Condolences may be sent via mckeemortuary.com
