Mary Cecelia Pitti

Mary Cecelia Pitti, née Irwin, passed away on January 12, 2022 in Puyallup, Washington at the age of 98. Mary was born December 22,1923 in a farmhouse on Yosemite Boulevard east of Empire, California. Mary attended grammar school in Empire, and graduated from Modesto High School in 1942. Near the start of World War II, she moved to Oakland, California to work as an operator for the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. She returned to Modesto, California to work for the Milk Producers Association, where she met her future husband, the late John Leland Pitti. Mary and John married in Saint Stanislaus Catholic Church in Modesto in 1946. Following marriage, she devoted her life to her husband and four children and her gardening. She came of age during the Great Depression. The experience of scarcity along with her Roman Catholic faith and membership in the Legion of Mary influenced her view of life. Foremost, she was compassionate with people in need, and this was often demonstrated in work with her husband in interdenominational groups that provided food and clothing to the poor, or provided transportation for those without cars, particularly if the destination was church. She taught compassion and empathy for others to her children, for which they are most grateful. Mary had an ironic and perhaps slightly offbeat sense of humor. For example, when her daughter was at the self- conscious age of fourteen, she became convinced that her nose was too large. Her mother spent 30 minutes or so warmly reassuring her that her nose in fact was petite. And soon after, when her daughter departed to catch the school bus, she cheerfully said “Goodbye Schnoz.” While Mary certainly taught her children a social conscience, she also was exceptionally fond of children being children, which is to say, of children being slightly mischievous on occasion. On many such occasions she scolded her children for some prank or another while unsuccessfully suppressing laughter. These were mixed lessons. When it came to her grandchildren, she seemed to grow even fonder of mischievousness, perhaps even encouraging it as payback. Mary is preceded in death by her husband, John, her siblings William, John and Patricia and her grandson Nicolas. Mary is survived by her son John J. Pitti, of Idaho; son Robert Pitti of California; son Daniel Pitti, daughter-in-law Julie Martin Pitti, of Virginia, and grandchildren Emily, Elizabeth, and John Michael; daughter Maryanne Willett, son-in-law Brad Willett, of Washington; grandchildren Sarah, Emma, Matthew, John, and Andrew; eight great-grandchildren and sisters Genevieve Bastien and Elizabeth Johnson of California. Those who survive Mary will miss her kindness, humor, laughter, and fussed over home-cooked meals with fresh garden vegetables that never quite lived up to her own standards despite surpassing those of others. There will be a funeral Mass for Mary on January 20th at 11:00 a.m. at St Andrews Catholic Church in Sumner, Washington. She will be interred next to her husband in Citizens Cemetery in Oakdale, California.

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