Jackie Marie Little

Memorial services will be 7:00 P.M. Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at Sharon Baptist Church. 

Jacqulyn Marie was born on November 9, 1958, to Jack and Ellen Copeland, in downtown Shawnee and passed from this life early Saturday morning, September 25, 2021, at the age of 62.

The first thing most people noticed about Jackie was how tall she was. Most people didn’t know she grew so quickly that she was taller than her first grade teacher and nearly six-feet tall by the third grade. When playing basketball in grade school, the other teams would always question her age. Growing up she loved to go fishing with her family at their pond. According to her sister Linda, she was quite the bass fisherman. She and her sister also loved to ride horses together.

On June 22, 1970, at the age of 12, Jackie accepted Christ and was baptized shortly after with her sister in their family pond. She loved to sing and began to lead singing in Sunday School.  She also sang in youth, adult and Falls Creek choir as well as singing many solos and duets. She loved teaching children’s Sunday School, VBS, and working with youth and college students.

She graduated from Macomb in 1977 and attended one year of college at Oklahoma Baptist University before she married the love of her life, Tom Little on June 3, 1978. She gave birth to her daughter, Becky in 1981 and her son, Steven in 1984. She was the most loving mother any one could ask for, and treated all of her children’s friends as if they were her own. In fact it was rare for her to meet anyone she couldn’t make quick friends with. She loved people and gave the world’s best hugs.

She never missed an event for one of her kids. If they were getting an award for anything she was there. Her children can’t remember their mother ever missing a single sporting event they ever participated in. She boisterously cheered her children and their teammates on at every game. Jackie was the kind of mom every official dreaded, as she never had a problem letting them know if they had made the wrong call.

She loved to travel with her family and would spend months every year planning the best vacations for them. She made sure she got the best deals for every trip and that they were packed with fun and excitement no matter where they went. After the kids were grown Tom and Jackie continued to travel and went camping together. They loved to travel together and had many plans for future trips.

Later in life, Jackie began to have difficulty singing because of an issue with her vocal chords. Though this hurt her deeply, she continued to serve the church by becoming the multimedia director. She loved making all of the slides for worship.

Jackie had a passion for gardening. Together, Tom and Jackie created a beautiful sanctuary in their back yard for them to sit and listen to their waterfall and look at the beautiful flowers she had planted.

She was also an enthusiastic photographer. She loved taking photos of waterfalls, old barns and the fall colors, but especially loved taking pictures of her grandkids. She absolutely adored them and bragged on them every chance she got!

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Ellen Copeland.

She is survived by her husband and best friend, Tom Little, her daughter, Rebecca Adkins and her husband Michael of Moore, her son, Steven Little and his wife Hannah of Shawnee, 3 grandkids Isaac, Paisley, and Jack, by her sister Linda Weiss and her husband David of Macomb, as well as a host of other family and friends and loved ones