Darrell Dennis Pittard, 74, passed away on February 2, 2023, at Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital after a long battle with a chronic illness. Darrell is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Sandra “Sandy” Fricks Pittard; his son Brian Davis Pittard and his daughter, Payton and son Davis; son David Darrell Pittard, his wife Sam and their three children Kate, Jack and Hunter; his daughter Suzanne Snider Wallace, her husband Jason and their son Will and daughter Ella; along with his mother-in-law Dorothy “Dot” Fricks of Gainesville, GA and numerous in-laws, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Darrell, a native of Stone Mountain, GA was the much loved and only child of Davis and Edna Pittard. In his youth, he was both accomplished in the classroom and athletically. As a graduate of Stone Mountain High School, he was a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and was a multi-sport letterman that was selected as an All-State Football player for Stone Mountain High School. A scholarship-athlete, Darrell went on to play college football at Tennessee Tech and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
During college, Darrell was a member of the ROTC, which transitioned his service to the U.S. Army stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY where he was a commanding officer in the 66th Finance Company. Following his honorable discharge, Darrell shifted his plans to attend law school and instead took his experience into a distinguished career in banking. While beginning his career, Darrell received his MBA from Georgia State University.
Darrell was CEO of four banks during his career, most notably Premier Bancshares and Prime Bank. During the wave of regional and national bank consolidations, he charted a different path leveraging his strengths in establishing local relationships that would allow his community-based banks and lending institutions in Georgia to capitalize on the growth of the metro area during the 1990s. Known as a respected and savvy dealmaker, his legacy reaches across the state, where his inner circle of colleagues continued to replicate the model he made successful.
Following his career in banking, Darrell became a cancer survivor; and transferred his professional efforts to his love of real-estate development. His first major project was Currahee Club along Lake Hartwell in Toccoa, GA; and, in recent years focused on the rapid residential expansion around Birmingham, Alabama.
As a loving and dedicated Father and Grandfather, Darrell was an active volunteer parent and coach for his children. He and Sandy never missed a game of their children and later in life spread their weekends across their grandchildren’s multiple sports and activities making certain they never missed a season, no matter the overlapping events. Beyond their activities, Darrell was an involved grandfather that loved spending time with and watching his grandchildren grow.
Known for his limitless energy, Darrell enjoyed a life filled with time spent with family and friends, his love of great food and fine wine was the frequent backdrop of these moments, with his beloved wife Sandy always by his side. Darrell’s passion for history and geography led he and Sandy to visit numerous countries and several continents. While their adventures included castles, cathedrals and museums, Darrell never let an opportunity pass to stop-by any fort or college campus within a questionable range of their actual destination.
Darrell’s pride for the State of Georgia was most pronounced in is his avid support for his favorite sports teams, the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Darrell was loved dearly by his family and friends and will be greatly missed. The family invites you to join them in celebrating Darrell’s life Thursday February 9th at H.M. Patterson and Son, Arlington Chapel at 173 Allen Rd., Sandy Springs, GA 30328. The visitation will begin at 1:00pm and followed by the memorial service at 2:00pm, with a reception to follow, held at Cherokee Golf Club at 4:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Darrell’s favorite charitable organization, The Wounded Warriors Project or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
