Richard Henry “Dick” Little, longtime EPC Pastor and Moderator of the 1997 General Assembly, died March 21 in Winston-Salem, N.C., following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87.
Little was born June 30, 1931, in Milwaukee, Wis., and grew up in Anniston, Ala. He graduated from Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., and received a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va., and Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary in Jacksonville, Fla.
Little’s first ministry roles were in Fishersville, Va., where he served as Chaplain of the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center and Associate Pastor of the Tinkling Springs Presbyterian Church. He later served as Pastor of Parkview Presbyterian Church in Newport News, Va. From 1965 to 1979 he was engaged in full-time preaching evangelism under the auspices of the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship. In 1980, he became Pastor of Reynolda Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., which he shepherded into the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 1987. He retired from the Reynolda pulpit in 1995. He remained an active Teaching Elder in the EPC during retirement, serving several congregations including Kempsville Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach, Va.
In addition to his pastorates and numerous speaking engagements in the United States, Little preached and taught in churches in India, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico, South America, and Ukraine. He was the founder of the Hawkridge Home for the elderly in Neyyattinkara, India. In the 1970s he served as the Coordinating Director for the First and Second World Conferences of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. He served on the boards of the Evangelistic Mission to Puerto Rico, The Presbyterian and Reformed Renewal Ministries International, and the Presbyterian Charismatic Communion. He was one of the founding pastors and served on the board of Associates in Christian Counseling in Winston-Salem, N.C.
He was the author of Kiss Your Church: How a Minister’s Preaching and Presence Can Bless God’s Church, published in 2002.
Little is survived by his wife of 60 years, Shirilee; son and daughter-in-law Richard and Tess Little; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren, and a cousin, Katharine Parrish. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Kathryn Lynne Jones.
A celebration of life service will be held on March 30 at 1:30 p.m. at Reynolda Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to River Oaks Community Church World Missions in Clemmons, N.C., or Pruitt Hospice in North Wilkesboro, N.C.