Royce Pettit

Royce E. Pettit Jr. of Phoenix, AZ, formerly of Reynolds, IL, passed peacefully on April 17th. He was born on February 1, 1928 and was the eldest child of Royce E. Pettit and Dorothy Clarke Waite Pettit.

Foregoing his senior year of high school in Reynolds, he attended a military prep school. Royce attended the U.S. Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1950. His specialty was as a submariner and anti-submarine warfare specialist. Upon graduation he served on the destroyer USS Perry as the ASW officer. He then spent time at the submarine school in New London CT, upon graduation there he was assigned to his first submarine USS K-1 then the USS Picuda. In 1956-1958 he was in charge of the Naval ROTC at the University of Louisville. He was then assigned to the submarines USS Tang followed by the USS Ronquil. In November 1959, he married his wife Odile Simats whom he met in Vancouver, Canada during shore leave. From 1961-1963 he was seconded to the Royal Australian Navy as an ASW instructor. He then became the commanding officer of the USS Baya. Moving to Hawaii he was on the staff of the USN ASW Force, Pacific. Royce then moved to the East Coast to become the ASW officer on CV-18 USS Wasp. Moving to West Germany in 1969 he was the information officer for Joint Defense Headquarters Europe. His last duty station was as Executive Officer for Great Lakes Naval Training Center. While there he earned his MBA in business management from Roosevelt University. Royce retired from the Navy as a Commander in June 1976.

A couple of years later he moved to Tempe, Arizona where his sister Janet and her family lived. Royce worked for the Maricopa County Civil Defense for 18 years till his full retirement. Tempe would remain his home until he moved into a senior retirement home in 2021 where he passed.

Royce was an avid worldwide traveler, loved poetry, scripture, puns and, above all, his family. He belonged to many organizations including Boy Scouts, Masons, church choir, retired submariner group and many charitable organizations, such as meal on wheels which he worked with for over 20 years. Royce will truly be missed.

Royce was preceded in death by his parents and his wife. He is survived by his sisters, Janet and Rosalie; his brother, James; his son, David (Patricia); daughter, Anne-Marie (Mark Markham); grandson, Kye; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.

A graveside service with military honors will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at Reynolds Cemetery, Reynolds , IL.