BELFAST – Delora Armstrong Pitman, 95, died peacefully Sunday, March 13, 2011, in Belfast. Ms. Pitman was the daughter of Frank W. Pitman and Delora A. Pitman, and the twin sister of the late Frank A. Pitman.
She was a graduate of Scripps College and Yale University, which awarded her a Master of Nursing degree in 1939. Ms. Pitman served her country as a nurse and as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War, rising to the rank of lieutenant senior grade. After her service she became head of nursing at Oakland (Calif.) Children’s Hospital, and was featured in an article about the hospital, which appeared in the Oct. 10, 1960, edition of Life Magazine. After the death of her companion, Eleanor Alexander, Ms. Pitman moved from California to Belfast in 2003 to be close to her sister-in-law who predeceased her, and to a town she had known since her youth. Ms. Pitman was a member of First Church, Belfast, United Church of Christ, where her late brother had served as minister for several years.
She is survived by numerous first cousins, including four first cousins once removed, Bruce F. Armstrong of Santa Barbara, Calif., Christopher S. Armstrong of Tiburon, Calif., Deborah A. Turnbull of Mendocino, Calif., and Mary A. Morgan of St. Louis.
Services will be announced at a later date. Arrangements under the care of Crabiel-Riposta Funeral Home, 182 Waldo Ave., Belfast. Online condolences may be placed at
www.ripostafh.com.