Willow Glen Resident

Community

Bank of America teller worked and lived in Willow Glen

By Alicia Upano

Doris Elaine Little may have been an Illinois native, but she was rooted in Willow Glen until her death on March 5.

Little, 80, was diagnosed with cardiac valve stenosis and her health began to deteriorate in December, worsening at the end of February. Her eldest daughter, Sharon, said her mother kept her sense of humor until the end.

Little's humor and outgoing personality is what endeared her to many Willow Glen residents and merchants during her long career as a Bank of America teller on Lincoln Avenue. Her friendly attitude toward her customers extended to her Willow Glen community, where she frequently handed out sweets to neighbors and their children at Christmas.

Little was born April 23, 1926, in Illinois, and followed a girlfriend to California in her early 20s. She first lived in the East Bay, where she met her future husband, Charles Little, at the restaurant and bar in the Claremont Resort Hotel in Berkeley. He was a student at UC-Berkeley, and the couple waited only six weeks to marry. Charles Little was a merchant marine and Korean War veteran. He owned and operated the Neighborhood Tavern, on the edge of Willow Glen.

The couple had two children. Sharon Little was born in 1963, and Janice was born two years later. The Littles moved to a home on Brace Avenue, Sharon Little said. From there, Little walked to the Bank of America branch on Lincoln. She retired in the late 1980s.

The family enjoyed car trips in the children's younger years, including to Carmel and Disneyland, as Little was fond of Mickey Mouse. The girls also enjoyed visits to Frontier Village and Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant.

Much of Little's life revolved around Willow Glen. She grew violets in her garden, had her hair and nails done on Lincoln Avenue, and loved to eat at local haunts, including John's XLNT Foods, and ravioli at La Villa Delicatessen.

"In the last few weeks of her life, she'd say, 'Bring me some spaghetti from Willow Street, bring me some soup from Taiwan,' " Sharon Little said. "Much of her life really was within these couple of blocks."

Little divorced her husband before his death 15 years ago, and enjoyed her retirement years with longtime partner Bob Klein. Little and Klein met at the family restaurant, Neighborhood Tavern. They enjoyed traveling to Reno and Tahoe for recreational gambling, and longer cruises to Hawaii.

Little is survived by Klein, daughters Sharon and Janice Seal, grandchildren Nicholas, Benjamin and Madison Seal, and Logan and Jackson Little.