PORT ANGELES — Friends and family came together Friday to celebrate the life of late City Councilman Jack Pittis, a man remembered for his dedication to his family and the city of Port Angeles, as well as his sense of humor.
Pittis, 59, died Feb. 3 from heart complications three days after being involved in a car accident that sent him to the hospital.
Although the service at Vern Burton Community Center was meant to celebrate his life as a man, father, colleague and friend, at times it became more of a tribute to his sense of humor and love of spreadsheets.
More than 300 people attended the service, which segued from tearful memorial to cheerful roast.
“He would want us laughing today,” said Port Angeles Mayor Karen Rogers, who told stories about road trips she, Pittis and other council members took where they spent hours pouring over spreadsheets and talking policy.
“He had an uncanny ability to put humor in the most tense situations,” Rogers said.
Loved spreadsheets
An engineer by training and temperament, Pittis relished the order of a spreadsheet, and expanded their use beyond the office or the family budget, said his daughter, Amber Mozingo.
“If there was a king of spreadsheets, it would be my dad,” she said.
“When we were growing up, we thought it was normal to have spreadsheets for he family vacation.”
First elected to the City Council in 2003, Pittis and his family has lived in Port Angeles since 1980.
His wife, Penny, his three daughters and four granddaughters all live in Port Angeles.
He also served as interim city manager and a city administrator for Port Angeles, Sequim and Hoquiam.
Most recently he worked as a private consultant specializing in public administration and project management.
Gift of ‘being a gentleman’
Those who worked alongside Pittis while he served city governments outside of Port Angeles also came to honor him.
“Of all his talents, his most precious gift was that of being a gentleman,” said Sequim Mayor Walk Schubert.
Albert Waters, streets foreman for the city of Hoquiam, said that Pittis’ legacy lives on.
“One thing we do have, we have the spreadsheets,” Waters said.
Pittis’ engineering and childhood friends also paid their respects and described their friend as dedicated to the things he cared about most — his family and community.
“He could have worked anywhere, but he choose to stay here in Port Angeles,” said Pittis’ friend, Craig Olson of Olympia.
Pittis had been returning from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on state Highway 3 on Jan. 31 when a vehicle driven by Jordan Dale Brown, 22, of Port Hadlock spun out in front of him near the state Highway 305 on-ramp in Kitsap County.
Brown was cited for second-degree negligent driving.
The day before he died, Pittis returned home from Harrison Hospital in Bremerton where he was recovering from his injuries.
Pittis also was injured in a vehicle accident in Hoquiam last year.
