Obituary of Elizabeth Jane Pitts

Elizabeth Jane Pitts, née Kay, passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, November 22, 2015, her daughter and best friend, Terry Rupp, by her side. She was 89 years old. Known as “Betty” to her friends, Mrs. Pitts enjoyed a “very good life,” as she herself put it, over 50 years of which she spent with her adoring late husband, Houston Rutledge Pitts. Indeed, Mrs. Pitts knew a good deal about living well, traveling extensively to exotic locations around the world, golfing and playing Mahjong and Bridge with her friends at Indian Summer Golf and Country Club, dining out and going to the movies, and frequently enjoying the companionship of her daughter, Terry. Her favorite travel destinations were Palm Desert, where she spent her winters golfing, socializing with her friends, attending plays and concerts, and visiting the Living Desert Museum; Africa, her “home away from home,” where she enjoyed going on Safari, learning about local cultures, and taking photos of wildlife; and the Near and Middle East, particularly Turkey and Cairo, the peoples, cultures, and cuisines of which Mrs. Pitts had a special fondness. Mrs. Pitts was keenly interested in cultural and current affairs and read The Wall Street Journal religiously. Sensible to the struggles of those less fortunate than herself, Mrs. Pitts also volunteered her time and donated broadly over the years to a range of charitable organizations and social causes. Nature was another abiding interest of Mrs. Pitts, and she enjoyed vigorous trail walks wherever she travelled. Mrs. Pitts also took great pleasure in the homes she made through the years, decorating them with the art, motifs, and colors that she so loved in her travels abroad. Mrs. Pitts will be sorely missed by all who knew her, especially her close circle of friends at Indian Summer, who marveled at her preternatural beauty, her peerless style, her grace, and her ageless vitality; and by her daughter, Terry, with whom Mrs. Pitts regularly sought out interesting new dining experiences, attended plays and concerts, and frequented Tacoma’s art-house movie theater, The Grand Cinema. Mrs. Pitts’ extended family will miss her as well: her late son Stephen Pitts’ wife, Kippy Messett, and their children, Elliott and Annie Pitts; and Terry Rupp’s children, Scott and Brian Rupp, and Brian’s wife Holly and their children, Henry and Lily Rupp—all of whom eagerly looked forward to joining Mrs. Pitts for holidays in her beautiful home, and in Palm Desert or at the Oregon Coast for relaxing annual getaways. Mrs. Pitts was grateful for the professional, attentive care she received from the nurses, doctors and staff at Capital Medical Center in Olympia, ManorCare Health Services in Lacey, and the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. Mrs. Pitts’ daughter, Terry, wishes to express her appreciation and heartfelt thanks to everyone at these facilities, and to all of Mrs. Pitts’ friends and family members, who helped make her mother’s final weeks as comfortable as possible. Your efforts and thoughtfulness have been the perfect valediction to Betty’s “very good life.” Please leave memories of Mrs. Pitts or condolences for her family in the Guestbook below.