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On the crisp wintry day of February 15, 1938, in Cannelton, WV, Emily Nutter Littlejohn gave birth to her fourth child, a son, Thomas Eugene Littlejohn. Thomas lived a happy child hood, getting in his, and everyone else's share, of mischief. He climbed the surrounding mountains and explored the woods, always under the protective eyes of his three older siblings, especially Emily Virginia. One story that always comes to mind is about his constant absence from school one year. He apparently skipped the majority of that school year to build a log cabin in the woods. This escapade seemed to have paid off since he later built a three-story log home in Summersville, where he resided until his death.
Tom stayed in Cannelton through high school and then went to serve his country in the Navy. He served in the "Police Action" that the United States would later recognize as the Vietnam War. He never talked much about that time, but in my opinion it was never far from his thoughts. While he was stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas, he met Mar Sue Frogge in 1960.
She was working for the Credit Bureau of Corpus Christi as a secretary for the executives. Some friends arranged for her and Tom to meet on a blind date. They dated for seven months and then married on August 10, 1960 in Corpus Christi, TX. The following year on February 16, 1961 Mar Sue gave birth to their first child, LuCinda, at the Navel hospital. The small family lived in Flower Bluff, TX in a one bedroom Spartan mobile home. In April 1961 they packed all of their possessions and traveled to Norman, Oklahoma to visit Mar Sue's parents, Ray B. and Lucile Frogge, then they went on to Winston Salem where they deposited their possessions with Virginia Perkins. From there they traveled to Cannelton, WV where Mar Sue and little LuCinda stayed with Russ and Emily Littlejohn.
Tom flew to San Diego, CA where he went aboard the USS Midway. He worked as a heavy equipment catapult mechanic. The catapults were what launched the Navel planes off the ship. Six months later his shipped docked in San Francisco for repairs and he sent for Mar Sue and LuCinda. They boarded a Greyhound bus to Oklahoma where they spent five days with the Frogges. Shortly thereafter, they went on to Alameda, CA, which is an island off of San Francisco, CA. On their arrival Mar Sue was informed that Tom had again gone out to sea. LuCinda had become ill and Mar Sue was tired and didn't know what to do, when, to her amazement, as she was sitting in a phone booth, the phone rang and she heard Tom's voice on the other end. When he heard how hysterical she was he had a Japanese friend to rush him to her side. They moved into a Quonset hut until they could move into an apartment.
They lived in Alameda for eight months, during which, Mar Sue got pregnant with their second child. When Tom had to go back out to sea for six months Mar Sue decided to go stay with her parents in Oklahoma. However, she was seven months pregnant and could not travel by bus. The only alternative was to travel by helicopter from Alameda to San Francisco, then take a plane to Oklahoma with connections in Dallas, TX. They stayed in Norman throughout her pregnancy and MarLinda was born on July 2, 1962 at the Municipal Hospital in Norman. Five days later Tom got out of the Navy and flew to Norman where he became reacquainted with his family.
They left Oklahoma to move to an apartment in a small town between Gauley Bridge and Boomer, WV. Mar Sue had left her white Mercury convertible in Cannelton, WV before she left for California, so Tom had to retrieve it before they could travel any further. When they moved again it was to a boarding house in Cannelton Hollow, WV a few houses from Russ and Emily. During their stay in the boarding house Mar Sue became pregnant again, but, unfortunately she miscarried after having to carry LuCinda and MarLinda through a terrible hail storm.
Tom then found a job in Summersville, WV as a surveyor in the coalmines. They found a farmhouse to rent, which was called Stowers Farm. While working as a surveyor, Tom became acquainted with some men that would become life long friends. Those friends were John Bill Brown, Ed Williams, Rusty Hindrickson and Billy Hindrickson.
While they lived in Summersville, Mar Sue again became pregnant. At the same time, Tom was transferred with John Bill Brown to Denison, OH as a surveyor. Mar Sue gave birth to Thomas Eugene Littlejohn II on May 30, 1964 in Summersville Hospital. Six months later both Mar Sue and John Bill Brown's wife, Joey, took their families to Ohio to find homes. They both found farmhouses that belonged to the Reed brothers. When the surveying job was over John Bill re-enlisted in the Navy and went to Vietnam. Tom joined the Operating Engineers as a heavy equipment operator to build I-79 in West Virginia and lived in an apartment near his work. Russell Littlejohn died of a massive heart attack while Mar Sue and the children were living in Ohio. Mar Sue took the children to Cannelton to stay with Emily while she looked for a home in Summerville, WV, so they could reunite with Tom. With the help of Joey Brown's father, Mar Sue found the Armstrong Farm for sale in Glade Creek. The farm consisted of a farmhouse, twenty-four acres of land with a pond and an apple orchard. Mar Sue contacted Tom and they went to Huntington, WV to apply for a VA loan so they could purchase the property. They moved into the farmhouse in 1967, and Tom got a job on a strip (coal) mine.
Two years later, July 1, 1969, Mar Sue gave birth to their fourth and last child, LaNora, at Sacred Heart Catholic Hospital in Richwood, WV. They continued to live on the farm for many years. During which they raised chickens, ducks, two Appaloosa horses, four steer, dogs and cats. There was always a large garden for fresh fruits and vegetables and, of course, the orchard provided fresh apples.
Tom and Mar Sue remained married until 1975, when they became legally separated. Tom got an apartment on Broad Steet in the downtown Summersville, and Mar Sue and the children remained at the Armstrong farmhouse.
In 1980, Tom moved a trailer to the back of the Armstrong farm to temporarily reside while he built another home. In 1987 he married Deloris Lane. They later built a home on the Armstrong farm where they resided until his death on April 23, 2004.
Thomas E. Littlejohn, Dad, died Friday, April 23, 2004 in the Memorial Health University Hospital in Savannah, Georgia. His death was a result of a massive heart attack that he had the previous Saturday while traveling with his wife, DJ, from Florida to South Carolina. He had been in Florida vacationing from the cold weather in West Virginia, and was on his way back home. LaNora, LuCinda, Linda, Tom, Virginia Perkins, and Jerry Littlejohn all went to Savannah to be by Tom's side when they learned of his heart attack. Tom was on a respirator for five days. Unfortunately, he never regained consciousness. He passed away a few days after the hospital took him off the respirator.
Many friends and family members attended his wake on Monday, April 26, 2004 in the Waters Funeral Chapel in Summersville, WV. His funeral followed the next day also in the Water Funeral Chapel. He was buried with military grave rites by the Craigsville, WV VFW in what is now The Littlejohn Cemetery, located on the farm on Armstrong Road, in Summersville, West Virginia. All of his children and siblings, along with many other family members and friends, attended the services. He will be sadly missed, but never forgotten, and always loved.