Frank Harold Pittenger

Frank Harold Pittenger, age 93 of Knoxville, died on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Mr. Pittenger was born September 4, 1916, in Boscobel, Wisconsin, the son of Sherman James and Loucinda Long Pittenger. After attending high school in Lancaster, Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, Mr. Pittenger earned a degree in Mining Engineering from Missouri School of Mines in Rolla, Missouri. In 1938, a job offer from American Zinc Company brought him to Mascot. While there, he met Patsy Harrill of Knoxville, whom he married on June 21, 1941, at First Presbyterian Church. That church was an integral part of Pitt’s life, and he served with energy and enthusiasm as a member of the James Park Sunday School Class, as a deacon, and as an elder. He delighted in the challenges of renovation and construction at Knoxville’s oldest church. During World War II, Pitt served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy aboard the U.S.S. Polaris in the South Pacific. He was the first President of the Holston High School Booster Club, and was a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. Always fascinated by geology and mining, in 1952, he founded Ready Mix Concrete Company. He was Chairman of the Board of Newport Sand and Gravel Company at the time of his death. He took great pleasure in the outdoors, especially the Smokies and the beach. He spent each summer vacation with his entire family at Fripp Island, South Carolina. Pitt wholeheartedly supported the University of Tennessee, particularly its football and basketball teams, and he had a special fondness for the Lady Vols. Most of all he loved his family. Mr. Pittenger is survived by his wife of sixty-nine years Patsy Harrill Pittenger, his son Gaines Sherman Pittenger and his wife Anne Walters Pittenger, and his son Dr. John William Pittenger and his wife Martha Wallace Pittenger. His son James Charles Pittenger predeceased him on March 10, 2010. Eight grandchildren survive him: Dr. Kristopher Dale Brandon Pittenger and his wife Dr. Gina Littlefield Pittenger, Samuel James Charles Pittenger and his wife Katherine Johnson Pittenger, Katherine Pittenger Griffin and her husband Dr. Benjamin David Griffin, Dr. David Wallace Pittenger, Loucinda Beeler Pittenger, Gaines Harrill Pittenger, Frank Harrill Pittenger, and Ruth Ann Pittenger. His five great grandchildren are Christopher Richard Pittenger, Nicolas Austin Pittenger, Maxwell Charles Pittenger, Charles David Griffin II, and Elizabeth Walters Griffin. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Susan Harrill Polk and a nephew and niece Robert Harrill and Lucie Carlson Polk. John, Robert, and Joyce Haskins, his beloved nephews and niece of Wisconsin, survive him as well. Pallbearers will be Dr. Kristopher Dale Brandon Pittenger, Samuel James Charles Pittenger, Dr. David Wallace Pittenger, Gaines Harrill Pittenger, Frank Harrill Pittenger, and Christopher Richard Pittenger. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to First Presbyterian Music Fund, 620 State Street, Knoxville 37902; or Old Gray Cemetery, P.O. Box 806, Knoxville 37901.