Violet Little Bernal

Violet Little Bernal

Violet Little was born on November 9, 1945 in Vallejo, California to William Henley Little and Elizabeth “Bessie” May Wood. Her siblings were Marie and William. Her family moved frequently and her parents were afflicted by alcoholism. Violet and her brother and sister eventually lived in a series of foster homes. With the help of her best friend, Violet escaped her final foster home.

As a young woman, Violet moved to Ohio to be near her sister, now Marie Oliver. During this time, Violet had her oldest daughter, Marie Little. Violet would later make the toughest decision of her young life and let her sister Marie raise her daughter.

In 1970, Violet took a vacation to California where she met Nasario “Junior” Bernal. As he tells the story, while he was walking out of a bar, and she was walking in, she grabbed onto him, he grabbed onto her, and they never let go. They married soon after, had three children, Tony, Cheryl and Darlene, and made their home in Richmond, California, where Violet was a third generation resident.

She worked all the time, doing whatever she could. She cleaned a disco and a gay bar, monitored school kids during recess, stocked at a department store, and dished out free samples at Costco, where she entertained customers with her rhymes and jokes.

For almost three years, Violet and her family quarantined because she had a lung disease. In December 2022, she got sick, but delayed going to the hospital until January, where she was diagnosed with COVID. She passed away on January 25, 2023, at the age of 77.

Violet was preceded in death by her parents, William and Bessie and her brother William. She is survived by her husband, Nasario; their children Tony, Cheryl and Darlene; her daughter Marie Little Gray, her granddaughter Katelyn Gray; her sister Marie Oliver, and many relatives and friends.

inis vitae sed non amoris

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