Reba Akin Little

Reba Akin Little, formerly of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, widow of William Lewis Little, was born March 24, 1917, at Floyd, Arkansas (White County), and died in Shreveport, Louisiana on June 17, 2010. Reba was the daughter of the late James Albert Akin and Margaret Elizabeth Barnett Akin. She obtained her early education at Floyd and Beebe High Schools. She later attended Harding College at Searcy and Draughorns Business College Little Rock, Arkansas. In her senior years she attended the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where she resumed her studies in piano and music for two years. She enjoyed playing and taping for herself. She worked as a legal secretary in Little Rock where she met and married "Bill" Little, an accountant, March 15, 1941. He joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a Special Agent in 1942. They lived in Indianapolis, Indiana, Chicago, Illinois, Independence, Kansas, and Little Rock while he worked in that capacity. They lived in Hot Springs, Arkansas, from 1951 to 1958 where her husband was Vice President of Hot Springs Bank & Trust. While living there she was very active in the P.T.A. and Girl Scouts of Hot Springs and Garland County. They moved to Pine Bluff in 1958 where her husband joined National Bank of Commerce, now Bank of America, as Vice President and Trust Officer. She was a member of First United Methodist Church of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and its Danho Sunday School Class where she served as president of her class. In addition to her husband who died in 1992, Reba was preceded in death by her daughter, Julia Little Richie. Survivors include her daughter, Sarah Little Hightower, and her husband, Thomas B. Hightower, of Fort Worth, Texas; her son-in-law, Dr. John N. Richie, of Shreveport, Louisiana; her granddaughters, Jennifer Richie, of Dallas, Texas, and Laura Richie Clabough, and her husband, Rick Clabough, of Knoxville, Tennessee; her grandsons Jefferson Lewis Hightower, and his wife, Jennifer, of Rogers, Arkansas; John Richie and Luke Richie, of New Orleans, Louisiana; and Kevin B. Hightower of Fayetteville, Arkansas; and two great-granddaughters and four great-grandsons; sister-in-law, Irma Boyer, of Fayetteville Arkansas, and numerous nieces and nephews. The family would like to express appreciation and thanks to those who provided comfort and care to Reba at the end of her life, Dr. Alan Borne, and care-givers Willa Scroggins, Katherine Ball, Clara Prince, Marie Buckingham, and Mary Mims all of Shreveport, Louisiana. Funeral will be 3:30 p.m., Sunday, June 20, 2010, in the Chapel of Ralph Robinson and Son Funeral Home in Pine Bluff, Arkansas with Reverend David Fleming officiating. Visitation will be 2:30-3:30 at the Funeral Home. Burial will be Monday, 10 a.m. in Graceland Cemetery. Honorary Pallbearers: members of the Danho Sunday School Class of First Methodist Church of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, 200 West Sixth Street, Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601, or a charity of your choice. Online register: www.ralphrobinsomandson.com.