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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly SP '70
Wade Hampton Pitts Jr. No.15417 Class
of 1946 Died 3 May 1969 in Evadale, Texas, aged
44 years. Interment: Memorial Park, Memphis, Tennessee |
Wade was born in Cherry Valley, Arkansas,
15 December 1924, and soon thereafter his family moved to Jonesboro,
Arkansas, where he called home. He attended public schools there
until his freshman year in high school when his parents sent
him to Kentucky Military Institute where he became an outstanding
student. From there he entered Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
and during that year, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps on his
eighteenth birthday. Later he received his appointment to the
United States Military Academy by Senator Took Gathings. Upon
graduation from the Academy in the summer of 1946 he married
LaDawn Irish, and their first assignment was in Columbus, Georgia.
From there they went to the Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving
Ground, Maryland. Their first overseas assignment was in Anchorage,
Alaska, and they remained there for three years. From there they
went to Milan Arsenal, Milan, Tennessee where their son was born
and lastly to Joliet Ordnance Depot, Joliet, Illinois.
In 1953, Wade tendered his resignation and was
discharged from the military service. His determination, drive,
and competitive spirit drove him to the world outside of the
military service to try his way in business. He and his wife
and three-year-old son moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where Wade
started a business of his own, the manufacture of automotive
air conditioners which he had designed and patented. Later, he
went into the manufacture of magnetic clutches (of his own design)
for auto air conditioners. At the time of his death, his business
had become one of the largest distributors of magnetic clutches
to independent auto air conditioner companies as well as to three
of the leading automobile manufacturers.
Wade was a dynamo who was rarely able to sit still
in one spot for very long. His physical stamina was unbelievable.
At his funeral he was eulogized with these words: "I
am sure Wade stopped long enough to pay his respects to the Lord,
but then hurried on, saying, 'Let's get busy, there is work to
he done.'" But Wade was never too busy when someone needed
a helping hand. He was one of the most generous and unselfish
of men. He always went that extra mile for a friend.
It was said of him in the 1946 Howitzer:
"An M.I.T. background supplementing his inherent brilliance
has necessitated Wade's looking to the field of personality in
which to excel in the true Pitts fashion. Certainly there could
be no reference to Wade excluding a mention of his excellent
physical capabilities and superb boxing ability. In the general
application of his tenacious, persevering, uncompromising, searching
approach toward any problem or question which presented itself,
his Spartan-like efficiency is most evident. Such consistency,
reinforced with iron will and unfailing logic, made indelible
his impression on the minds of all who knew him."
These qualities in Wade held true until his death.
He was always his own man and had the sustained courage to walk
his own path across this earth. He lived an exemplary life to
all who knew him. He was a great man, possessing the rare combination
of genius-like ability and an unfailing compassion for his fellow
man.
He leaves his wife of twenty-three years; his
son, Wade Hampton Pitts III, who is a member of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Class of 1972; his father; and four sisters.
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