McKINNEY, Texas--Funeral services were held here Aug. 13 for optical industry veteran Jay Andrew Little, who died Aug. 8 in Philadelphia, Pa. from cardiac arrest. He was 59 years old and a resident of McKinney.

Jay Little

Little devoted most of his 40-year career to optical equipment sales, most recently serving as WECO’s national lab sales manager for the U.S. and Canada. He was widely respected by colleagues, customers and competitors for his comprehensive knowledge and understanding of lens processing and laboratory technology. With his extensive experience and industry contacts, he played a key role in the explosion of the superoptical retail chain segment in the mid to late 1980s and in the growth of the independent wholesale lab segment.

Little was born Jan. 28, 1946 in Muskogee, Okla. After graduating high school he went to work for Coburn Optical Industries and spent 30 years in a career of service, sales and executive management. During his tenure at Coburn, Little traveled worldwide and was responsible for opening international sales offices, living in Singapore from 1977 through 1982 establishing offices in Singapore and Australia, returning to the U.S. to serve as vice president of sales through 1994. He later served with DAC Vision as vice president of international sales, and with Optical Dynamics as vice president of key accounts and with Briot-WECO.

Jacky Buchmann, president of Buchmann Optical Holding in Belgium, the parent company of Briot-WECO worldwide, stated, “We have been lucky to have had such a loyal and outstanding colleague as Jay Little within our organization.“Jay will be greatly missed and remembered by the many who knew him and collaborated with him.” Wholesale lab owner Ed Dietz III, president of Dietz Labs, Ft. Worth, Texas, called Little “a legend, a great guy, a salesman’s salesman. Jay was an incredible human being, great family man and great customer advocate. He could truly sell ice cubes to an Eskimo. He could sell a concept, product or thought to anyone whether they needed it or not. Jay will be missed by me and many others in our industry.”

Ron Kroll, a veteran optical salesperson who currently manages the Upper Midwest territory for Signet Armorlite, noted that, “Jay Little made the salespersons’ job much more difficult because he made it look so effortless. He sold based on trust, relationship and getting the job done right. There are few out there that can or will ever match his skill.”

Little is survived by his wife Linda Craig Little of McKinney, Bret Wayne Little and his wife Sandra and grandchildren Dakota Lee Little and Skylar Little of Tulsa, Okla., Leslie Paige Little and her partner Tony Diggs and granddaughters Logann Little and Alexis Drew Diggs of Tulsa, Okla., Edward Franklin Fogarty of McKinney and Charles Thomas Fogarty of Plano, and a brother, Jack Doty Little.

A Jay Little memorial fund has been established, the mission of which is to improve the resources, programs and options for recovery available to individuals suffering from substance addictions and/or brain diseases and their caregivers. Donations can be sent to the “Jaybird Trust” care of Linda Little, PMB 128, 6710 Virginia Pkwy Suite 230, McKinney, Texas 75071-5516.