Alice May Little, age 83, of Tulsa, OK, died Monday, August 29, 2016, at Storey Oaks in Tulsa. The body will be cremated and a private family memorial and interment of cremains are planned for a future date. Family suggests memorial gifts be designated to Alzheimer's research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation ( www.omrf.org ).

Alice May (Thornton) Little was born November 22, 1932, in Aurora, South Dakota to Guy and Emma (Schmidt) Thornton. She graduated from high school in Brookings, South Dakota, in 1950. She married Lawrence (Larry) A. Little on September 7, 1952, in Aurora.

Alice worked for the telephone Company on a manual switchboard in the early years of married family life. After Larry's graduation from South Dakota State University, the family moved in accord with Larry's engineering career, to Mitchell, SD, to Willingboro, NJ, to Andover, MA, to Fountain Valley, CA, to Pearland, TX, and finally in 1974 to Tulsa, OK. Tulsa was home for the remainder of her life. During her years in Tulsa, Alice worked for a number of years in the lunch room of Tulsa Public Schools and in the mailroom of Oral Roberts University. She was an active volunteer for Regional AIDS Interfaith Network of Tulsa and Meals On Wheels. But more than anything else, she devoted her time and energies to her home and family of four children, and eventually her grandchildren as well.

In moving from place to place, Alice readily made new neighbors into new friends and was adventurous in exploring what was special in the area. She pursued family excursions to historical sights, special events such as 1964 New York World's fair and many others, zoos, theme parks, swimming pools, beaches and campgrounds. Always Alice provided extraordinary support in the endeavors of her four children, attending all school musical programs and all sporting events; also bravely taking on role of cub scout den mother and girl scout leader. This same devotion extended to her grandchildren, all of whom had opportunities to spend a recreational week or two with their grandparents in Tulsa each summer. Alice enjoyed card games, movies, crochet and crafts.

Alice is survived by her husband of over 63 years, Larry Little of Tulsa, OK; by her four children: son Mike Little (Denise) of Houston, TX, and their children Christopher and Jamie; daughter Marta Little of Iowa City, IA, and children Jared Payne and Gina Payne; son Craig Little (Myriam Allendes) of Cupertino, CA, and their children Javier and Mariel; son Brian Little (Ted Jurek) and their children Aleksander Jurek and Alicia Jurek. Alice was preceded in death by her siblings and by son-in-law Robert Payne and granddaughter Rebecca Payne.

Alice passed to the sound of far off thunder. She was a gentle rain that nourished us all and occasional roll of thunder to keep us in line. We loved her with all our hearts.

Private Family Service will be held. Moore's Southlawn 918-663-2233