Jim Pitts has passed away Hello. Sorry to inform you that my father, Jim Pitts, has passed away. Please feel free to contact me for more information or to help settle his affairs at 617-947-4155 or paulinapurple@yahoo Below is his obituary. Thank you. Sincerely, James (Jay) Pitts James (Jim) Dofph Pitts III passed away on Sunday, September 28, 2014 at his home on Delta Organic Farm in Amherst, Massachusetts. He was 72. Born on August 4 in 1942 in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Jim was the son of James D. Pitts, Jr. and Marian Darden Pitts. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, Georgia in 1960 and immediately joined the U.S. Air Force, where he served as an engineer at Truro Radar Station on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Jim received an honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1964 and moved to Cambridge, where he met his future wife, Pennington (Penny) Couden. They married in 1969. A life-long political activist, Jim supported Shirley Chisholm in her 1972 bid for the presidency and spoke at the Democratic National Convention that same year. He continued to support civil rights and progressive politics throughout his life, including the 1995 Million Man March on Washington and the 2008 presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. He traveled to the Soviet Union, South Africa, and Nicaragua, twice as the chaperon of youth groups. After leaving the Air Force, Jim embarked on a long career with the Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts that began with his hiring as a programmer and ended with his retirement 29 years later as a senior manager. During his years with Digital, Jim and Penny brought up five children, two of whom they adopted: James IV, Usha, David, Christina, and Darden. They also participated in the Acton Congregational Church (Jim led youth Sunday School), founded a community theater (Jim directed and acted in several productions), raised chickens and goats, and actively engaged with their communities of Trumbull, Connecticut and Acton, Massachusetts. Jim also became a dedicated gardener, an interest that sprouted a second career in 1993, when Jim retired from Digital and moved to western Massachusetts with Penny to become a farmer. After founding Delta Organic Farm in Amherst, Jim became a fixture of the local farmers’ market and wider community. He continued to pursue his interest in politics, writing a column for the Amherst Bulletin and campaigning for Amherst’s adoption of a mayoral (versus Town Hall) system of governance. He enjoyed playing baseball with the “over 30” league and dancing. Later in life, Jim formed a second family with his wife Natalya Goncharova (married in 2009), and sixth child, Charles. The weekend before his death, Jim attended the homecoming football game at the University of Massachusetts, spent time with his youngest son, and planned for a spring harvest of garlic and strawberries. Ever a creative thinker and compelling speaker, Jim’s principled views on society and politics earned him an audience among people of all ages and from all walks of life. For many of us, he was at once a leader, father, politician, and teacher. Jim loved the land and his family, his God and his country. He died suddenly but peacefully, just as he wanted. Jim is predeceased by his sister Joyce and survived by two sisters, Deborah and Marian. He leaves seven grandchildren, one great grandson, nine cousins and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. We hope you will join us in honoring Jim at Goodwin Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church at 41 Woodside Drive in Amherst on October 18, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. Immediately following the service, all are invited to join us in at an open house on Delta Farm at 352 Hadley Road, also in Amherst.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 02:22:27 +0000
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