Colonel Raymond “Ray” Peter Pignitor passed away peacefully in his home on April 23, 2024. The youngest addition to a large Italian family, he was born on November 28th, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Philip and Filomena Pignitor. Always a fan of science, a diehard for Big Bang Theory, the Phillies and Eagles until the end, Ray graduated from Penn State University in 1965 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Geology/Earth Science. In 1966, he entered pilot training for the United States Air Force, where he would serve for 25 years, retiring in 1993. At an Officer’s Club dance in Victorville, California, he approached a lovely young lady, Tana Camille, for a dance. They married in Honolulu, Hawaii on May 13, 1968 and settled in Columbia, South Carolina in 1974 with two children, Trent and Stephanie. Ray and Tana were together for 53 years until her passing.
Ray is the only person to ever be nonchalant about surviving not one, but two, plane crashes – a mid-air collision during pilot training and an ejection into the South China sea during the Vietnam War. Never one to stay still, he dedicated his retirement years to his passion for people and cars, wheeling and dealing motor vehicles to the South Carolinian community at Dick Dyer and Associates, eventually retiring just this past year in 2023. He was a devoted parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Even though he liked to refer to himself as an “old grump,” he was a beacon of boundless love and warmth.
Colonel Pignitor is survived by daughter Stephanie Pignitor-Baker (Gregory) and son Trent Pignitor; and daughters-in-heart Elizabeth Jones (Robert) and Lisa Maroun (Abdo); grandchildren Madison Baker, Jackson Baker, Wesley Jones, Lauren Hobbs (John), Hannah Maroun, and Daniel Maroun; and great-grandchildren Jayden Maroun, Mary Wesley Hobbs, Penelope Hobbs, and Emma Hobbs; brother Joe Pignitor; many nieces, nephews and a huge extended family. In one last flight, he will be joining his wife, Tana, his brother and sisters, and granddaughter, Sarah Jones, in Heaven.
Ray’s family wants to thank the Amedysis hospice team, especially his nurse, Elizabeth Pardee, whose compassion and care was a great comfort to Dad and all his family.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm Monday, May 6 at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel. The family will receive friends from 12:00 until 1:00 pm prior to the service at the funeral home. Interment will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church columbarium.
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