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Canterbury School mourns beloved staffer

Media specialist Martha Pierce Little got to know her students and their needs. She died May 3 of cancer.

By MARY JANE PARK
Published May 10, 2006

[Special to the Times]

Canterbury School media specialist Martha Pierce Little, who served nearly 28 years in the position, died May 3 at age 63.

Soon after she met them, she became attuned to their interests. If they struggled with reading, she found books that held their attention. When they progressed through those, she recommended others.

Mrs. Little, Canterbury's library media specialist for nearly 28 years, died of cancer May 3. On Monday, both campuses of the private school were closed in her memory.

"This is the first time in the 38-year history of the school that a current faculty member has died,'' said Russ Ball, director of the Knowlton, or upper school campus.

Past and present students, their parents, faculty members, and other school employees and numerous community leaders filled the pews at St. Peter's Episcopal Cathedral on Monday for her funeral.

Mrs. Little was a member of the cathedral, where the crowd attending the service filled the nave and overflowed into the parish hall.

In his homily, the Very Rev. Russell Johnson, dean of the cathedral, said Mrs. Little opened new horizons for the children. She was "kind and gentle and encouraging,'' he said.

Mrs. Little's passion was "promoting reading and writing and motivating students,'' said Jan Herzik, director of the Hough, or lower school campus.

"She just made the library magical,'' said Sarah Longquist, a longtime Canterbury teacher.

Mrs. Little, 63, was known to her family and friends as "Mart."

After the service, her family received friends at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. The private association customarily is closed on Monday.

Although Mrs. Little was tiny - some guessed maybe not even 5 feet tall - she was intense. Her students knew her enthusiasm for the written word.

Others recalled the vigor with which she supported the Florida State University Seminoles football team and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She was a fervent boater and kayaker, a loyal friend who often had the comportment of Miss Manners, yet enjoyed a good laugh.

Mrs. Little was a St. Petersburg native and a graduate of St. Petersburg High School and Florida State University. She earned a master's degree in library science from the University of South Florida. She was married to Christopher Little for 30 years.

As more people gathered in their home in Crescent Heights on Monday evening, they remembered the media specialist, the sailor, the woman who never met a stranger, who seemed to put everyone she met at ease.

Mrs. Little flew under the radar, they said, avoiding headlines and the limelight.

Until Monday, when a community stopped to celebrate her.

[Last modified May 10, 2006, 06:58:35]