The Life of Dad

                               

James Little, affectionately known as Jimmy Ringo to his close friends and family, was born August 14, 1940 in Monroe Louisiana to the parents of William Little and Mary Spencer. He was the first of six children. In the late 1940s James and his mother relocated to Los Angeles California. James accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized at Full Gospel Fellowship where his mother Mary Randolph was the founding Pastor.

 James enjoyed sports such as track and field, football, and swimming and had a love for boxing. He attended and later graduated from Jordan High School in Los Angeles California. After high school he went on to trade school where he learned carpentry skills.

In 1964 he met and later married his best friend Mary Haynes with this union two sons were born. In the mid-1960s James opened up his first of many businesses, a janitorial company with eight employees working under him. He also worked for Los Angeles County Hospital. In the early 1970s James moved to Reno Nevada to work for a construction company building Casinos. While at work one day he met and fell in love with Theresa Johnson with this union two daughters were born.

After living in Nevada for seven years the two relocated to Oakland California to be closer to family. In 1985 the two started T&T Auto Detail and Carwash. The initials stood for their daughter’s names Tri-Nu and Tecretia. James and Theresa had a love affair that lasted until her untimely death in 1994. With the help of his son Anthony the detail shop was remodeled and renamed Jimmy’s House of Sparkles. The family business stayed open for more than 25 years.

I remember spending summers at the carwash working as a washer trying to earn some extra cash. I will never forget seeing my father buffing out these beautiful shiny automobiles, and giving them back life. Although he had several employees to do the work for him he always showed that he was never a stranger to hard work and was always willing to get his hands dirty. I always admired that about him and so did many of the staff. James also owned the breakfast café located across the street from the detail shop.

After retiring James decided he wanted to travel visiting places such as Las Vegas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Miami, Alabama, Catalina Island, Mexico, and Jamaica.