Menefee Bennett Little

Menefee Bennett Little died in Raleigh on December 9, 2011. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Crawford Little, Jr., a Raleigh attorney, and by her two brothers, David Neville Bennett, III, and Thomas Benton Bennett. Mrs. Little was born in Norwood, North Carolina, on August 25, 1921, the daughter of David Neville Bennett, Jr., and Lillian Menefee Bennett. She graduated from Womans College, UNC-G, in 1943. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Raleigh for over 65 years, serving as a Deacon, President and a member of the Foundation Board of the Women of the Church, a Sunday school teacher, and a member of the Vanguard Class. Mrs. Little was President of Rex Hospital Guild and sat on the board for 24 years. She was the first woman in Raleigh appointed to a local bank board and served in that capacity at North Carolina National Bank (Bank of America) for 14 years. She was a founding member and President of the Wake County Bar Auxiliary and President of the Wake County UNC-G Alumni Association. Mrs. Little served on the boards of William Peace University Foundation, Peace University Board of Visitors, Wake County Cerebral Palsy Center, and the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities. She was a sustaining member of the Junior League of Raleigh. Her family includes her children, Bennett L. Cotten, and husband, Wesley, of Raleigh; Marian L. Steffner, and husband, Jim, of Lookout Mountain, TN; and James C. Little, III, and wife, Lu Ann, of Raleigh; grandchildren, Lillian C. Turner, Kate W. Cotten, James C. Little, and W. Bryce Little; and sister in law, Mary Frances Bennett. A memorial service will be held in Memorial Hall at First Presbyterian Church, on the corner of Morgan and Salisbury Streets in Raleigh, at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14. Reserved parking is available for Seniors behind the Hall off Hargett Street. Friends are welcome at Mrs. Littles home, 2720 Cambridge Road, on Tuesday, December 13, from 5 - 7 p.m. Those contemplating a remembrance are asked to consider, in lieu of flowers, a memorial gift to the Friendship Fund or Building Campaign of First Presbyterian Church of Raleigh or to Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities in Raleigh.