Victoria "Vicki" Duncan Little

Victoria “Vicki” Duncan Little, 82, of Indian Beach, North Carolina, passed away on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at Carteret Health Care.

A memorial service to honor Victoria’s life will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 29th at Munden Funeral Home.

Born on April 19, 1942, in Atlanta, Georgia, Vicki was the daughter of the late Joseph and Bernice Duncan. Vicki started reading the newspaper when she was three years old. Her father sometimes would hide it from her, to watch her wonder whether it had been thrown in the yard that morning by the paper boy. She remembered those times fondly.

At six years of age Vicki’s father left her mother, leaving her with Vicki, her older brother Christopher, and her younger brother Donald. The child support check was less than one hundred dollars a month. They had no TV and no car. Vicki's mother Bernice walked blocks down to the bus stop every weekday morning to ride the bus to work. And rode the bus home every day, arriving just before dark. She had a caregiver come and be with them after school until she got off work. Often, their week began with a supper of collards and cornbread, which they ate until they finished it later in the week.

In her early teens, Vicki and her brother Donald would ride bikes through the neighborhood. During these times they would pick flowers where permitted and then go door to door selling them to earn money. When she was still a teen, she sent a “business sounding” letter to a sales company where she was accepted as a salesperson and was sent a kit to go door to door to take orders for Christmas card packets. They didn't know she was under their age limit, but she soon became a great Christmas card salesperson. 

Vicki hated school. In those times, if you were a child from a divorced family, you were avoided in school. In addition, Vicki was bored with school. Her teachers would say, “if you will come to class, you can get an A". But she could not bring herself to do it and left for good, somewhere in the tenth grade. It was then she focused on working one or two jobs to earn money. Around age 18 or 20, Vicki began taking night classes at Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta and working during the day. She finished Woodrow Wilson College of Law with flying colors. Vicki married and did not take the bar exam until four years later. But when she did, Vicki was one of the few that passed it on the first try - the state of Georgia had a very low pass rate on the first try. After that, Vicki walked into law office after law office, asking if they needed a new lawyer. A "Female Lawyer" lawyer in the 1960's? She found one that said, “no salary, but I will give you a desk”. 

Victoria Duncan Little never forgot her past. Over the years she’d tell the story about one of her clients who would have Vicki update her will and each time the payment was a homemade cake. Vicki said the cakes were the best. One year she represented 12 people who were charged with murder, all the verdicts came back as not guilty or were found guilty of much lesser charges. In those times in this country, a woman or a person of color did not have much of a chance in court, this was not the case if Victoria Little was your attorney. Vicki was admitted to the four District Federal Court of Appeals and The United States Supreme Court. At her death, she was still a member of the Georgia State Bar. She will be missed.

In 2006, Victoria embarked on a new chapter of her life and relocated to the coastal shores of North Carolina alongside her late husband of 21 years, Charles Engelberger. Following Charles's passing, Victoria found companionship once more in the heart of Ruel Tyer, whom she married in 2018. They remained in Indian Beach where Victoria loved her peaceful home on the water with the amazing view of the ocean.

Those remaining to cherish her memory are her devoted husband, Ruel Tyer; brother, Donald Duncan and wife Debra of Franklin, NC; grandson, Kelsey Little of Northern Georgia; niece, Lorry Ann Spencer of Peletier, NC; stepchildren, Laura Sun Engelberger and Darren Charles Engelberger; step-grandchildren, Zadie Engelberger and Austin Sun; and her beloved cat, Inky.

In addition to her parents and late husband, Victoria was preceded in death by her sons, William K. Little and Robert A. Little; and step-grandson, Brandon Sun.

Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net.

Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.