Karen Lee Pittman

Mrs. Wayne C. Pittman Jr. was born Karen Lee Ladendorff on July 25th, 1938 in Butte, Montana. She grew up in Montana, New Jersey and Arizona. In June of 1959 she married Second Lieutenant Wayne C. Pittman, Jr., who had just graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. For the next 30 years, they lived all around the United States and in Europe.

They covered the U.S., from Puerto Rico to Minot, North Dakota, from Bangor Maine to Santa Clara, California, where Karen completed her college degree in history. The last nine years of Wayne's Air Force career they lived in Spain, Germany, and England. They loved living and traveling in Europe. During their Air Force years, she and Wayne both earned private pilot licenses.

Wayne retired in 1989 with the rank of colonel, and they bought their first home ever in Beavercreek, Ohio, where they became active in the aviation community in Dayton, promoting the history and heritage of aviation in the Miami Valley.

Karen served as a docent for many years at the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and as archivist at Special Collections and Archives at Wright State University and at the Archives at Carillon Park. Karen loved air shows to the point where she became involved in helping to plan, organize and stage them wherever she could. She helped Wayne create the B-52 Stratofortress Association, still active today. In her spare time, she served on the Friends of the Libraries Board for the Wright State University Libraries. After Wayne's death in 2015 Karen continued to serve at the Museum and Wright State until the Covid epidemic shut down those activities for her.

Karen passed away on September 22. She is survived by her brother, Robert Ladendorff, and her sister, Marcia Ladendorff.

Visitation will be held from 5:00pm-6:00pm, on Friday, November 18, 2022, at Newcomer Funeral Home, 3380 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Beavercreek, where the Memorial Services will begin at 6:00pm, with David Pittman officiating.

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