Harvey C Pittman

 Dr. Harvey Clark Pittman, age 97, formerly of Winter Park, FL, passed away July 10, 2024 at Brentwood Assisted Living, Ocala. Dr. Pittman was born on August 4, 1926 in Pittsburgh, PA to Benjamin Hayes Pittman and Evelyn Virgila Ayers. He attended McKee High School in Staten Island, NY, where he was a running back #33 on the football team, and ran track. He graduated in 1944 and joined the Army Air Corps. There, he learned aviation mechanics for the B-29. He also attended Jet Propulsion School, working on P-80 aircraft.

Later, Airman Pittman joined the FBI, Dept 1 Fingerprint Classification Division. The FBI selected him to help Dr. Vannevar Bush during Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll. Harvey was discharged at the end of service, but was recalled again for the Korean War. He was a firearms instructor until he was assigned to RAF Chicksands, England. As part of the 10th Radio Squadron, he was manning the switchboards when he met his future wife Sylvia Anne Poole of Bedford. They met face to face during a Bedford Corn Exchange dance, and were married at St. Martin’s Church, Bedford May 22, 1953. They moved to the U.S. as his service term ended, and in the next two decades they had 4 children: Laura Jean Pittman (Dowler) 1955, David Clark Pittman 1958, Carol Lee Pittman (Busche) 1968, and Victoria Lynn Pittman (Courte) 1969.

Later, Air Force orders took him to serve in Vietnam at the Saigon National Interrogation Center, where he also planned bombing raids. He was an Intel Officer for the Strategic Air Command HQ in Omaha, Nebraska. In the coming years, the family moved to Guam, when he was assigned to the 8th Air Force as an Intelligence Threat Officer. Next, the Pittmans moved to Wright Patterson AFB, OH when he was assigned to the Foreign Technical Division. Harvey retired in 1977 as a Lieutenant Colonel and moved with his wife and two youngest children to England until 1982.

Lt. Col. Pittman was a highly decorated veteran, and was awarded 37 medals/ribbons including Bronze and Silver Stars. He earned a BA in General Studies (University of Nebraska 1971), a Masters in History (Wright State University, OH 1977) and a PhD in Church History (International Seminary, FL 1993).

In the 1990s, Dr. Pittman devoted time as a Chaplin, to the Civil Air Patrol in Orlando teaching cadets moral leadership, and underprivileged children how to read. He also was a security officer for the Orlando International Airport. In 2005, Harvey became Dean of the International Seminary, and continued to review oral defenses well after his retirement.

Harvey and Sylvia lived in the same house in Winter Park, FL from 1982 until 2024, and then moved to assisted living in Ocala. He leaves behind his wife Sylvia of 71 years, daughters Laura, Carol, & Vicky; son David; grandsons, Andrew & Benjamin Dowler, Ian Pittman, and Michael Davis; granddaughters Kendall, Samantha, & Sarah Pittman; also, great-granddaughters Alice Benson and Adeline Davis.

He will be sadly missed.