Just saw this announcement over at Armorama.
that stinks…what will happen to all those vehicles?
Aside from the loss his family must feel,that is a tremendosly huge loss for armor enthusiasts, snd those interested in history.[:(]
Another great gun goes silent!
Taps!
The museum is entrusted to a foundation that Jacques set up several years ago. It is hoped that the foundation will run the collection. As I receive more information, I will let folks know here and on various other boards along with my website.
Was that the man from that tank restoration show? Thats too bad that a great tank restorer is gone. Hopefully they’ll continue their work
Thats really sad to hear. I hope that the foundation continues his work because in another 100 or so years the things that we restore today are the only things likely to survive. I mean other that than the millions of U.X.O. littering the world but thats hardly the legacy that we want to leave behind IMHO.
What awfull news!!!
Just had to google it to see if it is true.
Here is a link that I found…
http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2009/01/jacques-littlefield-19492009.html
To the Littlefield family, My thoughts and prayers…
Tom F.
Rest In Pease.
a truly great loss to our field of interest
Jacques Mequet Littlefield, Tank Scholar and Collector Jacques Mequet Littlefield, who assembled one of the largest private collections of military vehicles in the world and championed open space in the mid-Peninsula, has died in Portola Valley, California. He was 59 years old and had battled cancer for the past decade. Jacques’ fascination with armored vehicles began in his childhood when he started building plastic models of tanks. While in college, he built his first scale model, radio-controlled tank. He acquired his first full-sized vehicle in 1975. In 1998 Jacques set up the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation to manage his collection of over one hundred fifty vehicles and restore new additions. The collection ranges from a World War II era U.S. Army M3A1 wheeled scout car, the first acquisition, to a Soviet-era mobile Scud Missile launcher, and includes such famous tanks as the U.S. Sherman and Patton class; U.K. Centurion, Conqueror and Chieftain; German WWII vehicles including a Panther; and Soviet-era Russian tanks. The complete inventory is available at www.milvehtechfound.com. Jacques was considered a scholar and expert on the history of armored warfare and the foundation helps serve the interests of authors, historians, educators, the defense industry, veterans groups, model makers and the entertainment industry. The collection is housed at Pony Tracks Ranch in the hills above Portola Valley, which the family acquired in the mid-1970s. Pony Tracks was the country estate of former San Francisco mayor and California governor James “Sunny Jim” Rolph, Jr. Over the years, Jacques restored many of the old buildings on the ranch, such as the stables, and acquired additional property helping to maintain open space in the hills above Portola Valley. Jacques was the son of the late Edmund Wattis Littlefield and Jeannik Mequet Littlefield. He was born November 21, 1949 in San Francisco, California. His father was CEO of Utah International and served on many corporate boards during his career. He is survived by his mother, a strong supporter of the arts and a member of the Chairman’s Council of the San Francisco Opera; his brother, Edmund Littlefield, Jr.; and sister, Denise Littlefield Sobel. Jacques also is survived by his wife, Sandy Montenegro Littlefield, and five children: David, Scott, Allison, Jacques Jr. and Jeannik, and one grandson, Kingsley. Jacques grew up in Burlingame and attended Cate School in Carpinteria, California before studying at Stanford University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in 1971 and an MBA two years later. He worked for Hewlett Packard as a manufacturing engineer before focusing solely on building his museum and restoration facility. Jacques served on the boards of the George S. Patton Museum in Fort Knox, Kentucky, the Cate School, the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, the Hoover Institution, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Filoli Center. He was a member of the Bohemian Club and Captain of the Sempervirens camp. A viewing will be held at Roller Hapgood & Tinney Funeral Directors, 980 Middlefield Rd in Palo Alto, on Saturday, January 10, 3:00 to 6:00, and a public memorial service for Jacques will be scheduled for the near future. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to one of the organizations Jacques supported: The Patton Museum, Cate School, the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, the California Academy of Sciences, the Hoover Institution or the Filoli Center.
I am so saddened by his loss, but after reading his obituary, I am so envious of the time he had–he put it to great use —three cheers for Jaques --[#toast] to all our missing comrades-- from the heart, tread
I am so saddened by his loss, but after reading his obituary, I am so envious of the time he had–he put it to great use —three cheers for Jaques --[#toast] to all our missing comrades-- from the heart, tread
Because of his age this really comes as a shock to me. It does sound like he had plenty of time to get his affairs in order and took care of the future of the collection. There are worse ways to be remembered than leaving behind a great pile of restored armored vehicles.
RIP
Mr. Littlefield was a client of mine from 1978 on. At that time he was involved in armor modeling, more than full sized restoration. He was modeling armor at large scale and his pride and joy was a T-34 about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle that was a flamethrower tank. I watched one evening while he set his asphalt driveway on fire.
I’m shocked to hear of his death- we’ve been out of touch for about 20 years. He was 3 years older than me, which means something to some of us/you.
Jacques was a very nice man, a superb machinist. He had a giant machine shop, which he used mostly alone, to build high quality models.
I worked on a particular project: I’m an Architect. He became interested in italian organs and was a fairly proficient artist. He commissioned a pipe organ from Fisk in Mass.
We designed a room for his instrument that was mostly underground but had one story of space above for clerestory light. My parents live a couple of miles away.
On a perhaps more interesting note, Jacques was a live steam railroad fan. He really was a great hobbiest. There were a couple of rail lines around his property, each of which was at least a mile long. They were 1" scale, i.e. 1/12.
He hosted lots of clubs that brought their tea pots and ran them all over.
He was a very humble man. I only learned of his passing tonight on this forum. I can say that he deserves a special issue of FSM, I know that he was involved in the purchase and restoration of full sized AFVs, I did help him design a garage floor that would support a Panther/ Tiger.
Here’s to you, my friend.[party]
My firm designed that garage (George Cody Architect), including the floor (McVicker Engineers) which is 12" of concrete with 40000 psi steel. If I’m not mistaken, when the Panther comes out of the garage, that’s Jacques in the blue coveralls and black wellies who comes out behind, and that’s Jacques in the back-in sequence who comes out of the door on the left, in the blue coveralls, with the extinguisher.
Sadly, that’s not Jacques. The video was taken the evening of his death. His crew filmed it as a memorial to him.