James Pitman

James Arnold Pitman, born Anthony James Arnold Santacroce, passed away peacefully in his home in Pine Lake Park on August 25, 2025, surrounded by his family at the experienced age of 87.

He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, children Kim, Tina (Ryan), James (Gloria), grandchildren Lee, Bryan, Morgan, Maximus, Angelina, Rochelle, Nicole and Erica, and finally his first wife Annie with whom he shared a special bond (having married each other twice!)

Jim will be greeted in heaven by his father Vincent Peter Santacroce, his mother Marion Doris Allie, stepfather Bert Pitman, stepson Earl, and grandson Richard who have all predeceased him.

Jim will be remembered as many different things: a friend, husband, a father, a mechanic, a welder, an inventor, an author, a day trader, and perhaps least successfully: an Ebay seller. Jim will also be remembered as a jack of all trades; he was a man who had the ingenuity to fix nearly anything if he just had some electrical tape and welding rods and though it may not often have been pretty, it nearly always worked. Jim was a storyteller and would take as much time as you'd give him reliving his many adventures over the years. He loved sharing important lessons in business, such as "you can have good, you can have cheap, and you can have quick – but you can only pick two;" or the way he viewed the world: "the purpose of a lock on a front door is to keep honest people honest and nothing else." Jim always wanted to make sure that his vast knowledge was passed on to someone whether it was his kids, grand kids, neighbors or decades of yard sale customers.

Perhaps most important of all to him, Jim Pitman was a devout man of faith. He took every opportunity he could to bring the word of God to as many as he could. He was comfortable in his exit from this earth knowing that he had raised his family, had served his God, and he knew that the Kingdom of Heaven awaited him when his time in this life was over. He left this earth with his cherished bible in hand, reminded of a passage he loved: Psalm 25:13 "His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth."

Jim Pitman led an extraordinary life which he was able to document portions of in his autobiography "Justice or Injustice? You Decide." If only he had more time to have it turned into a motion picture as he wanted for the world to experience in IMAX, complete with a famous director, very specific character actor requirements and special effects. We should all have been so lucky.

Finally, after 50 years as a fixture of Pine Lake Park, the family is happy to announce to the community that it will need to find a new landmark to provide when giving directions. The neon green mailbox of Commonwealth Boulevard will be coming down in the very near future. It will be his daughter's greatest pleasure to remove it.