Dr. Thomas Dale Little

Published 5:00 pm Monday, November 4, 2024

Dr. Thomas Dale Little WEST POINT – Dr. Thomas Dale Little died peacefully on November 2, 2024, at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle, with his sons by his side. He was 88.
Dr. Little was born in Meridian, MS, on June 16, 1936. He graduated from Meridian High School in 1954, from Vanderbilt University in 1958, and from the University of Mississippi Medical School in 1962. He completed a medical internship in 1962-63 at Cincinnati General Hospital. Following his internship, Dr. Little served in the US Air Force as a flight surgeon from 1963-66, during which time he did a Vietnam tour and received two Air Medals.
Following his military tour, he completed a four-year orthopedic surgery residency at Georgia Medical Center/Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital in Atlanta, GA. In 1970, Dr. Little moved to Meridian and started his orthopedic practice. In 1971, he performed the first total hip replacement in the state of Mississippi. He practiced in Meridian for 30 years, until he retired in 2000.
After retirement, he and his wife, Ellen, built a small log cabin in Mackay, Idaho, where they spent a great deal of time and enjoyed the beauty of the Big Lost River.
Thomas is preceded in death by his wife, Ellen Skelton Little; his parents, Kathryn Dale Little and Hampton Stennis “Judge” Little; his brother, Stennis Little; and his sister, Patsy Little Culpepper. He is survived by his sons and their wives: Thomas Dale Little, Jr. (Elizabeth), Hampton Judge Little (Catherine), and Reginald Barton Little (Laura), and by nine grandchildren: Anne Coursey Little; Thomas Dale Little, III; Elizabeth Ellen Little; Reginald Griffin Little; Emma Kathryn Little; Thomas Blake Little; Elizabeth Scott Bond; Wyatt Ethan Bond; and Hampton Judge Little, Jr.
The family wishes to sincerely thank his caregivers, Gladys, Martha, and Vesta, who allowed him to remain comfortably at home for the last two years of his life.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, November 7 from 4-6 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Meridian. There will be no funeral, but the family will spread his ashes at the Big Lost River, where Ellen’s ashes are spread.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Stennis “Judge” Little Scholarship at Meridian Community College or the H. Stennis Judge Little, Sr, Scholarship, MSU Foundation, or to the charity of one’s choice.