William Edward Littler III, 68, of Adair, passed away Saturday, March 2, at his home in Adair, surrounded by family.

Bill was born May 29, 1955, in Greenfield, the son of W. E. Littler Jr. and Joanne Johnson Littler. He graduated from Adair-Casey High School in 1973.

Bill started work for his parents at The Adair News at a young age and became a full-time employee at the newspaper in 1973, learning the Linotype and hand-fed presses. He continued working until his death. Bill spent a lot of time behind a camera at school and community events but especially liked to photograph his kids and grandkids.

On June 1, 1974, he married Connie Jo Carritt at Trinity Lutheran Church in Manilla. This union was blessed with four children: William Edward IV, Ella Maria, Andrew Joseph and Benjamin Thomas. Bill and Connie would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June this year.

In 1991, Bill and Connie purchased The Adair News from his parents. The paper has been in the family since 1937. He served as publisher of the paper from 1991 until his death and enjoyed writing his “Seems to Me” column.

Littler was active in the community. He was a member and past president of the Adair Chamber of Commerce; a member of RIADA, Inc.; member of the Iowa Newspaper Association; member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church; member and past president of the Southwest Iowa EMS Association; and past president of Adair County Fire and EMS.

He was named Adair’s Citizen of the Year in 1988 and again in 2005. In 2022, Bill and Connie were named “Master Editor-Publisher” by the Iowa Newspaper Association.

He served his community for 35 years as a member of Adair Fire and Rescue, joining the department in 1979 and retiring in 2014, and held various positions during those 35 years. He became an EMT in 1980 and took on the role of Ambulance Captain for more than 30 years. He received his EMT-I certification in 1992 and his Paramedic certification in 2005. To his closest EMS friends, he was referred to as “Doc.”

Survivors include his loving wife Connie; children, Bill (Amy) Littler, Andy (Suzi) Littler and Ben Littler; grandchildren, Bryce (Chelsea) Littler, Brock Littler (Cloe Hoyt), Becca Littler, Madden Littler, and Caden Littler; sisters, Mary Beth (Kevin) Petty and Diane Littler; brother-in-law, Ray (Mary) Carritt; sister-in-law, Caroline Carritt (Dave Reinke); father and mother-in-law, Gordan and Lillian Carritt; and nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his unborn daughter, Ella.

Public visitation with family will be held on Friday, March 8, 2024, from 4-7 p.m., at the Adair Fire Hall in Adair.

The funeral service will be at noon, Saturday, March 9, 2024, at the Adair Fire Hall in Adair, with Pastor Kyle Fever officiating the service. A luncheon will be held following the funeral service also held at the Adair Fire Hall. A private interment will be held at Sunnyhill Cemetery in Adair.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Adair Fire and EMS for EMS education, The Adair Public Library, or the Boys & Girls Club in Adair, in memory of Bill. They may be mailed to the Schmidt Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 523, Atlantic, IA 50022.

The Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Adair is handling the arrangements for the Littler Family.

1949-2024

Paul Homer Miller, 74, son of Homer and Cecelia (Dietrich) Miller, was born June 14, 1949, in Sigourney. He passed away Saturday, March 2, 2024, after a short battle with esophageal cancer. 

Paul attended schools in rural Kansas and What Cheer. In 1966, Paul began working as a union traveling iron worker for the next 20 years. In 1988, he married Kathryn Brandt in Adel. They made their home in DeSoto for a short time before achieving one of his life’s dreams by buying land worthy of hunting and fishing south of Panora, where they have been ever since. Paul then worked for Ironworkers Local 67, Des Moines on many notable projects, including 801 Grand in Des Moines and Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, commuting daily from Panora until his retirement in 2009.

Paul enjoyed outdoor recreation immensely including both bow and shotgun hunting for deer, turkey hunting, fishing in any form whether river, lake, pond, or ocean, camping and in later years gardening. Paul was always willing to share his knowledge of the outdoors with any family kids.

A primary philosophy of Paul’s was to work smarter, not harder, and while he saw evidence of the opposite everywhere, he was always willing to teach and let people learn in their own way. A quiet giant to his family, he was well-versed in colorful language, a vibrant personality and set in his ways. He would always helped Kathy in her projects in any way he could.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Kathryn Miller of Panora; step-daughter, Ann (Paul) Stough of West Des Moines; step-son, James Riceman; grandchildren, Andy (Sara) Thomas and Ali (Alex) Ernst; great-grandchildren, Gabriel Paul Goodson and Lenyx Ernst; sisters, Clare Miller of West Des Moines and Barbara (Raymond) Oleson of Waukee; brothers, Jim (Cheri) Miller of West Des Moines; Randy Miller of West Des Moines; Pat (Betty) Miller of Winterset; and Mark Miller of West Des Moines; along with many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Elaine Gillaspey and Kathy Day; and his wonderful dog, Sam.

Cremation has taken place and memorial services will be 10 a.m., Saturday, March 9, 2024, at the Twigg Funeral Home, Panora. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services.

Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family.