Murv and Judy Little started the Sister City Exchange Program with Mizuho
Published in the Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Robert Airoldi
Photo by Robert Airoldi
Murv and Judy Little enjoy playing with their dog Socks in the backyard of their southwest Morgan Hill home.
Murv and Judy Little have lived all over the United States. From Idaho to Connecticut, from Missouri to Arkansas, and from Texas to Morgan Hill, they had a stint in San Jose as well. It’s been a long and winding road, but after the couple settled here in 1988, their passion for volunteering and helping others took hold.
Judy, who is of Japanese-American heritage, noticed the large Japanese community in Morgan Hill when they moved here and she and her husband immediately got involved, helping out with the Haru Matsuri Festival now for the past quarter century.
They’ve also volunteered for the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library, the Mushroom Mardi Gras, the South Valley Quilt Association, the Taste of Morgan Hill, the Fourth of July Celebrations, Toys for Tots and the local Presbyterian Church.
“Wherever we were needed, we’d help,” Judy said.
But perhaps the program that really sparked their interest the most was the Sister City Exchange Program, which they developed for students from Mizuho-Machi and Morgan Hill in 2006. The program remains strong and the students now alternate visiting each other’s country every year.
“We just thought it would be a good idea to do an exchange,” said Judy, 78. “We were interested in getting our local students involved.”
“Kids learn so much traveling,” Murv, also 78, said. “They just grow and blossom.”
The couple has been to Japan five times and have come to love the island, the people and the culture. One trip was as chaperons with the exchange program, the others as regular tourists.
That road to Morgan Hill from Idaho began in the late ‘50s when Judy – who was born in Idaho and worked as a secretary at Westinghouse — met Murv, who was stationed in Arco, Idaho, working in the nuclear power program for the U.S. Navy. They were married in 1961 and moved to Connecticut where he attended submarine school. After his discharge in 1965 after seven years of service, they moved to Missouri where Murv attended the University of Missouri, Rolla, where he graduated in 1971. A move to Arkansas then to Texas was followed by San Jose when he was hired by Dana Ditmore — who won the LEAD award from Leadership Morgan Hill this year — to work at General Electric. At the time, neither lived in Morgan Hill, but now both live here and remain great friends.
In 1981 Murv went to work for Nutech in San Jose until 1987. For the following 20 years he worked as a consultant for the Electronic Power Research Initiative in Palo Alto before retiring in 2011.
While working at Nutech, Murv and colleagues would head south to have lunch at the old Sinaloa’s Mexican Restaurant north of town.
“I kind of fell in love with the place,” he said.
Judy’s first job in high school was at the local post office in Pocatella, where the diminutive woman had to use a milk cart to stand on because she was so short. She laughs at that now, but her height has never kept her from achieving her goals.
She attended Idaho State for a short time before the couple married and had children. She eventually earned a paralegal certificate from the University of California, Irvine, and worked for various attorneys before retiring.
She got the bug to volunteer in the early ‘70s working for an attorney in Missouri who ran for district judge. She helped run his campaign and loved the work.
Today, Murv and Judy are trying to lessen their volunteer workload. The couple enjoys walking their dog Socks, a 4-year-old Maltese and Yorky mix, along the trail near LaCrosse Boulevard. They also love visiting their grandchildren.
But the Littles remain connected to the city they’ve come to cherish.
About Morgan Hill, Judy said she loves the “smallness” of the city. “We know all our neighbors. There’s a real sense of community here. We just love Morgan Hill.”
