Focus — Farewell to a Friend
Past President and Man-of-the-Year Ralph D. Little Ralph D. Little, longtime resident of Geneva Illinois, passed away on March 30, 2022 the cusp of his 98th birthday. With his infectious sense of humor and unending interest in connecting with others, he was social right up to the end. Ralph spent his childhood in Des Moines, Iowa. He was the third child of Mary E. and A.D. Little, and his siblings included Jeanne, Howard, Carolyn, Don, and Harriet. He was an army veteran who served in Europe during World War II, and a graduate of University of Iowa. Ralph met his wife, and love of his life, Lucile, in college. They were married in 1950 and spent almost 68 years together, until her passing in 2018. They started their family in Iowa, welcoming their first three daughters Suzanne, Jean and Jan, and later their fourth daughter, Betsy, born in St. Charles, Illinois. In 1958 Ralph, with Lucile’s blessing, chose to follow a life-long passion: landscape design. They moved to Illinois to work for Marlie Moulton, founder of Thornapple Nurseries, in St. Charles, Illinois. They eventually purchased the nursery business and continued to grow it until Ralph’s retirement in 1990.
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A believer in the equality and dignity of all people, and an ardent pacifist after the horrors he witnessed in WWII, Ralph was an outspoken supporter of the civil rights and other justice movements. He was an advocate for community engagement, serving on the Geneva School Board, Geneva Parks and Recreation Board, and Tri-City Family Services Board. An active member of the Geneva Rotary Club, he was also a founding member of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA). As a supporter of the Chicago World Flower and Garden Show, he was recognized with gold and silver awards in 1974, 1975 and 1977. Along with other colleagues in the landscape industry he helped develop industry education programs in coordination with faculty from University of Illinois. The education programs provided by the ILCA, continue to flourish today. Ralph was grateful for all the opportunities in his life. He and Lucile survived the lean years and prospered in their landscaping business, thanks to assistance from Geneva business owners and landscape/nursery colleagues following a devastating fire. We will miss him dearly.
The Landscape Contractor May 2022
