Bobby Ray Pitts

Funeral services for Bobby Ray Pitts will be held on Wednesday, January 11th, 2017 at 10:00 AM at Reed-Culver Chapel with Pastor Deverett Butrick officiating. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 10th, 2017 from noon until 6:00 PM at Reed-Culver Chapel. His final resting place is Qualls Cemetery beside his wife, Juanita. Pallbearers for Bobby include Charlie “Butch” Pitts, Cody Barber, Chris Hall, Randy James, Ronnie Carter, and James Barber.

Bobby Ray “Bob” Pitts was born in Cane Hill, Arkansas on June 15, 1933, to Harvey Arnold Pitts and Ina Mae Walker Pitts. In the mid 1930’s, the family moved to Canadian, Texas and later to Tahlequah, Oklahoma where he attended school at Sequoyah Grade School. When he was 15, he had a horse that he loved named “Pet”, who got her hooves caught in a fence and threw him. The accident left him in a coma for several months with partial paralysis and he had to learn to walk and talk again. The horse was sold, but he loved her so much that he later rebought her and kept her for several more years.

He was a truck driver for many years, driving a milk truck route for his parents, cross country deliveries for Willis Shaw Trucking Company, and route sales for Pepsi Cola Company. He worked for several years as a custodian at Northeastern State University and was proud of the years he spent working for the Cherokee County Commissioners Department. He retired in 1992 from the City of Tahlequah, Sanitation department.

He married in 1951, had 3 children, then in 1960 married Juanita Faddis, and together they had 3 more daughters.

Bob was a self-taught mechanic and enjoyed rebuilding cars. In retirement, he entered some of his cars in show events and won several trophies for his entries. He enjoyed raising cattle and beekeeping. One of his greatest pass times was watching old western movies and would watch them over and over. Bob was a dedicated Christian and faithfully attended the Liberty Baptist Church in Moody until he was no longer able to attend.

Bob passed peacefully from life on Friday, January 6th, 2017. He is preceded in death by his parents, Harvey and Ina Pitts; two sons, Dwight Pitts and Virgil Pitts and his wife of 54 years, Juanita Pitts. Those remaining to cherish his memory are Daughters; Valeda Stover of Tahlequah, OK, Mary Hutchins of Palmer, TX; Benita Sanders of Stilwell, OK and Vera Barber of Altus, OK. Grandchildren; Kimberly Wooldridge, Beth Carter, Becky Pitts, Mandy Keys, Sarah Duria, Shawn Stover, Jeromiah Birdtail, Jacob Birdtail, Cody Barber, Phillip Hutchins and Kayla Barber and 28 great grandchildren. One sister, Joy Lee James of Tahlequah, OK and life-long friend and “Honorary” brother, Dennis Adcock of Muskogee, OK.