Georgia Littlefield
Georgia “Ricky” Littlefield died peacefully in her sleep September 8, 2025 in Rock Hall, MD. She was 92 years old. Ricky was known for her sharp sense of humor and willingness to embark on great adventures. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, to parents George and Mary Eleanor (nee Heywood) Geisel, Ricky was a 1951 graduate of Bayside High School. Memories of her early years were filled with time spent with extended family and friends at Lake George, NY, and socializing with her high school sorority sisters. Her first love was a black cocker spaniel named “Peppy,” which led to a lifetime of companionship with various spaniel breeds.
Post high school, Ricky attended Connecticut College for Women, where her social calendar was filled with college dances and events with her Amicitia sisters. After graduating with a degree in economics in 1955, Ricky moved back to New York to join the buyer’s training program at Lord & Taylor and begin her modeling portfolio for the John Robert Powers Model Agency. Her dream of becoming a buyer of children’s clothing ended when she married Air Force Lt. Paul A. Littlefield, Jr. in December 1956 and had two children – Paul the third (known as Tony) in 1957, and Jennifer in 1959. They moved to Minnesota to follow Paul Jr’s career, yet she was able to continue her modeling work with the Eleanor Moore Model Agency in Minneapolis.
As her children progressed in school, Ricky found her passion in volunteering for the Junior League of Minneapolis. Eventually, Ricky became restless and decided to reenter the workplace as the vocational coordinator for the Minnesota Correctional Institution at Shakopee in 1972. Her 12 years there saw major changes in the institution’s rehabilitation structure as she progressed from the position of vocational coordinator to the director of the honors cottage and chief disciplinarian. In 1977, she and Paul Jr. divorced. Ricky left her career in corrections in 1984 to pursue an MBA at the University of St. Thomas. Upon receiving her degree, she was invited to start the university’s Center for Nonprofit Management in 1986. She continued as the director of the center and lecturer until her retirement in 1998. She also served on several non-profit boards- most notably the Carmen Pampa Fund supporting Bolivian college students.
Retirement was filled with reading, attending performances, traveling, knitting, needlepoint, and textiles. She was an avid collector of native baskets and crafts and frequented the Heard Museum in Arizona. Ricky discovered Camden, Maine in 1991 and spent a good part of her summers there with friends and family. She also traveled the states and the world with her beloved human companion Charley Oswald. She moved from Minneapolis in 2009, splitting time between Bozeman, Montana and Chestertown, Maryland. She eventually settled full-time in Maryland to be closer to her grandchildren. Throughout life’s changes, Ricky found comfort and strength in the Episcopalian Church. Ricky was dedicated to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and asked to have trees planted in her name. She also requested to have her ashes scattered over Penobscot Bay in Maine. In addition to Tony and Jennifer (Driver), she leaves behind two grandsons – J. Cameron and Matthew Littlefield.