David Wesley Pittman, originally from Sandersville, Georgia, died from complications of Lewy Body Dementia on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. He celebrated his 64th birthday on Dec. 8, with his wife of 43 years, Debi L. Lastinger of Milledgeville, Georgia; his parents, Wesley and Rubye Pittman of Milledgeville; and parents-in-law, Marlon and Ann Lastinger of Sandersville. David was brother to Drew (Anita) Pittman of Milledgeville and Cynthia Pittman Cox of Athens. David was additionally blessed his entire life by his mother-in-law, Joy Ferguson Cawley, of Roswell, Georgia.
David was predeceased by his nephew Jacob Michael Bern and sister-in-law Lora Lastinger Langley. He is survived by nieces and nephews he loved dearly: Joshua Langley, Jeremiah (Laura) Boone, Eliot Bern, Bradley (Krystal) Pittman, Nickolas (Joy) Langley, Maggie (Kevin) Boone Tucker, Barbara Frazier, Victoria Frazier, Marissa (Jack) Miller, John Wesley Pittman, Tommy Pittman, Grant Smith, Aimee Smith, CiGi Curry, Colby Langley and Hudson Curry, who were lovingly raised by Cara DeCelles, Kerry Bern, Drew and Anita Pittman, Monty and Ellen Lastinger Curry, Ronnie and Lisa Boone, Tim and Lora Lastinger Langley, Lisa Lastinger, William Miller and Jay Smith. He was also gifted with a much younger brother-in-law, Randy (Amanda) Lastinger.
David graduated Washington County High School in 1972. He received his BBA in Accounting from Georgia College and State University, MBA in Finance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Master of Liberal Arts in History from Baker University. David was pursuing his EdD in Educational Administration at the University of Bath in Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom when he became ill.
David was director of Business Services at Midwestern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; vice president for Business and Finance and treasurer of the University at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas; chief financial officer at the American University of Bulgaria; vice president for Finance and Administration at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia; and vice president and director of Business and Finance for Idyllwild Arts Academy.
He additionally served as a consultant to the Soros Open Society Institute in its educational endeavors in Eastern Europe. David was passionate about liberal arts education and its potential to change the world by igniting the passions of young people and gifting them with abilities to effect those changes.
A creative and successful financial manager, David’s avocations included history, with emphasis on the Civil War era in Georgia and Kansas, and horticulture. He enjoyed nothing more than working with his father Wesley at Pittman Nursery.
David’s favorite project of all time involved the research and purchase of a mid-19th century stone chapel, Sproxton Methodist Chapel, in Liecestershire, England, which he subsequently had disassembled, labeled, transported to the United States and reassembled on the campus of the Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.
During this process, he established significant relationships with the people in the village of Sproxton and the members of English Heritage, from whom permission to remove the chapel was needed. The campus of Baker University was honored by the presence of many of these, including the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as the chapel was reconsecrated the Osborn Chapel there.
A Celebration of David Pittman’s Life was held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church on Linton Road in Sandersville. In lieu of flowers, and in honor of David’s lifelong investment in the lives of young people, donations in his memory are requested to:
Baker University, www.bakeru.edu/foreverorange/give-now/
The American University of Bulgaria, www.aubg.edu/give-to-aubg