Elizabeth W. Pitner

Elizabeth W. "Libby" Pitner, 95, passed away Saturday, May 6, 2017.
She was the beloved wife of the late Craton G. Pitner and the late Lt. Wallace Lippincott, loving mother of Thomas C. (Linda Zerbe) Pitner, Robert M. Pitner and Elizabeth P. "Betsy" (Anthony Go) Lowe and a sister of the late Dorothea Phillips and Harvey Whitaker. She was a beloved grandmother of Emily and Janine Pitner and Susannah and Aaron Lowe and the late Graham Lowe and a loving great-grandmother of Jermaine and DeAndre Brown.
She was born in Melrose, Mass., and moved to Swarthmore at age 7.
Her family spent their summers at the family farm in North Berwick, Maine, and they also drove across the country to Tacoma, Wash., three times when her father was working there. She graduated from Swarthmore High School in 1939, where she played field hockey and lacrosse, and received her bachelor's of arts in economics from the University of Delaware in 1943.
She married "Wally" Lippincott in 1943, and they moved around the country as he completed his U.S. Army training. He was sent to Europe the next year, where he was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. She then worked for United Airlines in Philadelphia as a reservationist in the early days of the aviation industry until she married Craton G. Pitner in 1948. They moved to Baltimore, Md., and had three children. In 1959, the family moved to New Martinsville, W.Va., where she was treasurer of the local Presbyterian Church and volunteered in the school, church and community. The family moved again in 1967, this time to Peters Township. She worked in Peters Township Library and Horne's Department Store at South Hills Village. She was an avid Pittsburgh sports fan, was in many bridge clubs and circle groups, traveled to Europe and attended concerts with Craton, and was a talented amateur genealogist. She was a member of Bethel Fife and Drum Chapter of National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the Mayflower Descendants of Pennsylvania and Peters Creek United Presbyterian Church, including a cancer survivors support group. Recently, two articles about her appeared on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer in one week, when a canteen belonging to her first husband was found in a museum in Luxembourg and returned to her about 70 years after it had been lost on the battlefield.
Funeral arrangements are by Beinhauers. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 24, in Peters Creek United Presbyterian Church, Venetia. The service will be preceded by a visitation with the family beginning at 10 a.m. No viewing will be held. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Peters Creek United Presbyterian Church, American Cancer Society or Peters Township Library.
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