Thomas Edward Little of Catonsville, a former pastoral associate for the Eastern Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and pastoral associate for evangelization and adult faith formation at Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville, was an energetic educator, an astute organizer and well-known for his love of singing, Notre Dame football and tropical shirts.
He died Jan. 5, age 76. Most recently he was a parishioner of St. Paul in Ellicott City.
Monsignor Jay O’Connor, the current eastern vicar and former pastor of Our Lady of the Fields, called Little “a true missionary disciple, committed to witnessing to the Lord, forming people in faith, and sharing the joy of the Gospel through his life and ministry.”
“Tom was a faithful, lifelong servant of the church who truly shared his love for the Lord Jesus in his service to God’s people,” said St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, a former eastern vicar for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “Tom had a passion for wanting the best for God’s people and his outreach to others was an inspiration to me.”
Born Oct. 5, 1948, in Altoona, Pa., the son of Fred O. and Mary Margaret (Finnegan) Little, he attended St. Charles College in Catonsville and graduated from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore 1970.
He went on to receive master’s degrees from St. Mary’s and Johns Hopkins universities, a doctor of education degree from North Carolina State University, and in 2011 was awarded the first doctor of ministry in Christian spirituality degree from Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C.
Little developed and taught online and in-person courses at Mount St Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Towson University, Johns Hopkins and Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore, and Harford, Cecil, Howard and Baltimore City community colleges, along with the U.S. Army.
From 2011 to 2015, as pastoral associate for the Eastern Vicariate, he managed events and interventions for 68 parishes and facilitated retreats and planning events for local service organizations. He served at Our Lady of the Fields after that.
Little once listed his areas of interest as “designing strategies to apply adult learning principles to instructional design and technology use; easing the use of various learning strategies using effective adult learning tools and techniques, group management for effective meetings and decision making and the importance of spiritual development for individual and group integrity and enrichment.”
He was the director of the doctor of ministry program at St. Mary’s Seminary 1979-90; director of business training at Baltimore City Community College 1990-2000; director of the Institute of Continuing Education at Towson University 2000-02; director of the Weekend College at Notre Dame of Maryland 2004-05; an adjunct faculty member at St. Mary’s University 2005-06; and executive director of the Bon Secours Retreat Center in Marriottville 2006-11.
He is survived by Patricia, his wife of 44 years, son Matthew, daughters Sarah and Rebecca, and five grandchildren.
An 11 a.m. funeral Mass will be offered at St. Paul in Ellicott City on Jan. 18.
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