A special remembrance
James and Wanda Pittman (2019)
BY BRUCE BRANUM
The Greenville Standard
In an article written in The Greenville Standard from Feb. 5, 2020 featuring three married couples from the Central Community in Butler County, five of those have now passed.
Most recently James and Wanda Pittman passed. James on July 4 and Wanda on July 5.
James Emil Pittman, Sr., was born in Honoraville, March 8, 1932, and Wanda Uhrich Pittman was born in Odessa, Wash., Sept. 10, 1933.
Theirs was a unique and romantic love story from start to finish.
To follow is their story from 2020.
James and Wanda Pittman, who also live in Central, have a bit of a different love story.
James grew up in Central, and then joined the U.S. Navy. Wanda grew up in wheat country in eastern Washington State and then moved to the Seattle area.
They met while James was dry-docked in Seattle for three months for ship repairs. Wanda was operating an Addressograph machine for an engineering magazine.
They started seeing each other and one week later James proposed to Wanda. They had to wait one week for a marriage license and then were married on March 31, 1952.
Wanda laughingly said, “We got married on that day because I wasn’t getting married on April 1, which is April Fool’s Day.”
In September of 1952, Wanda boarded a train to Greenville from Seattle. “I was scared to death. I didn’t know anyone,” she said.
Wanda arrived in Greenville one morning around 2 a.m. and the train conductor arranged for a cab to take Wanda to James’ parents’ house. “Needless to say, they were shocked,” Wanda added.
In September 1953, James got out of the service and worked with Butler County, the railroad, and also attended business school.
Afterwards in 1957, James started working at paper mills in Georgia, then North Carolina, and finally Alabama after he and Wanda moved back to Greenville in 1967.
He retired on medical disability in 1989. Wanda was mostly a homemaker but also worked at Camellia City Florist.
Wanda said of their long marriage, “We grew up in an era where a commitment was a commitment. I think you also have to be each other’s good friends. You have to have a lot of compromise, friendship, and faith.”
James added, “The good Lord forgives you for your sins and you have to be willing to forgive. You have to be able to give 100%.”
They have four children: Patti (deceased), Mary Jo, Jim, and Billy; five grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren; and a great great grandchild.