Claremont, N.H. —
Duncan exuded compassion, exhibited high intelligence, and felt everything deeply from an early age. He was just three when his family suffered a miscarriage, and it was explained to him that the baby had died because it could not breathe. He told his dad, “That’s okay. I will put my mouth on its mouth and breathe for it.” He is remembered visiting his Dad’s classroom at Stevens High School and genuinely talking with the high school students when he was a toddler. Later, as a first grader, he would strut down the corridors of the Maple Ave School with his long hair and beloved cowboy boots. Traditional school was a challenge for Duncan. In Kindergarten he once exclaimed from the back seat of the car, “I should do something to get expelled so I don’t have to go to school anymore!” He told his mom he had learned the word expelled from a Harry Potter book. He spent a period of time home schooling and then attended other schools before returning to Stevens for high school. He graduated from the Stevens Claremont Alternative Program in 2011 a year ahead of his original class. That year he was also a recipient of the Mr. T award given to students of exceptional character for perseverance and dedication to their academic and social development. For a number of years, Duncan organized and promoted local music shows in Claremont at both the Moose and Healy’s Carpet Center insisting that these events be substance free. He was dedicated to providing a local, safe space for music and its enjoyment. He also had a great interest in cars and a wonderful sense of humor. He nicknamed his beloved black Charger Megatron after the Transformer character and was looking forward to acquiring a Toyota Supra as a project car. Duncan was currently employed at the Big Lots store in Claremont as the Furniture Manager where he had most recently started setting up the Halloween displays. Halloween was a time he fully embraced having challenge his mother as a tot to make a pickle costume for him.
A gifted and unusual young man, he began marching to the beat of his own drummer at a very early age. Often seen as a rebel and a loner, this was only because he saw and felt the world in a visionary way to which few could relate and often understood facts and circumstances long before he had developed the emotional wherewithal to deal with them. In fact, his friends meant everything to him and many considered him one of their best friends. He built relationship with people by being with them. Whether attending shows, watching movies, listening to music or sitting around a fire and talking, his goal was to be present. He had a thirst for wisdom over knowledge and the spiritual rather than the religious. His teacher, Scott Pope, wrote of him “I remember the depth of how he would work on a challenging problem, immersing himself in it, seeking all alternatives, constantly challenging ME to look at alternatives. In the education world, we call this critical thinking, or depth of knowledge. It was not just the facts and applications he wanted to know about, he wanted to know the possibilities, potentials, and the nuances as well. I still use one of his project work-ups as an example for others to use.”
Duncan is survived by his brother, Ian Littlefield; and his mother, Constance Kincaid-Brown of Perkinsville, Vt.; his father and step-mother, J. Holt and Heather Littlefield of Claremont; his step-sisters Alistashia and Jasmine Dunbar; and his step-brother, Dylan Dunbar. He is also survived by his maternal grandfather, Stanley M. Brown and his wife, Elizabeth of Hadley, Mass.; his paternal grandmother, Joan Littlefield of Claremont, N.H.; his aunt, Katherine Brown and her partner, David Fischmann of Newfane, Vt.; his uncle, William T. Fenn of Salt Lake City, Utah, his uncle, James Allen Littlefield and his wife, Nazli Kibria; and cousins, Shomick and Shomita Littlefield of Newton, Mass.; his step-grandfather, William HB Fenn of Windsor, Vt.; his step-grandmother, Mary DeSautels and her partner, Charles Swift of Polk City, Fla.; and his step-uncles, Bruce Cabot of Cornish, N.H., John Cabot of Chester, Vt., and Richard Cabot of Carolina Beach, N.C. He was predeceased by his maternal grandmother, Marlene K. Headley and his paternal grandfather, Dr. James A. Littlefield.
A memorial Service in the manner of Friends (Quakers) will be held at the Stringer Funeral Home in Claremont form 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. We will sit together in quiet reflection, and those who are moved to share something about Duncan may stand up and speak, or sing, or read out of the silence.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be sent to the Duncan Littlefield Music Fund c/o the Stevens High School Alumni Association, 24 Opera House Square, PO Box 29, Claremont, NH 03743.