North Carolina. It was exciting to be associated with him during the years of his development projects on Hay Street.” As Stone Manor was being built, the
Pittmans began to build a vast real estate portfolio, purchasing various buildings and property in Fayetteville. Dr. Pittman helped develop the city in a way that would be considered unprecedented even by today’s standards. He was not only a prominent surgeon and owner of Pittman Hospital, he also owned the LaFayette and Prince Charles hotels and the downtown high-rise now known as the AIT building. There was also Pittman Field and a house at Lake Williams near Seventy-First High School for entertaining guests. Dr. Pittman also built Pittman Plaza,
a shopping center in Lynchburg, Va. The groundbreaking was attended by then-Gov. Terry Sanford on the site of the old Miller Orphanage which had been demolished to make way for the construction. Pittman Plaza would become Lynchburg’s first shopping center when it opened in 1961. The 44-acre property is currently undergoing its own
Fayetteville
910.323.9525 office 910.323.2863 fax 2919 Delaware Dr.
Fayetteville, NC 28304
revitalization, spearheaded by its current owners, Liberty University, which received it as a gift. Raymond Pittman Jr., grew up privileged and went to Davidson College where he excelled in sports and the school debate club. He also fell in love with and became engaged to Jeanette Shaw, one of three beautiful sisters growing up in Fayetteville. His stepsisters, the Blue girls, were
also making a name for themselves around that same time. Fellow physician and family friend, Dr. Wade T. Parker, married the youngest daughter, Elizabeth, on Jan. 26, 1932. Tragedy struck less than six months later when she succumbed to a lengthy illness in May. Her death made the front page of The Fayetteville Observer which reported that she was, “one of the most popular members of the younger social set in Fayetteville.” Dr. Parker remarried; he and Elizabeth’s older sister, Margaret, would have two children together, Wade Jr., and Clifton. Dr. Parker continued to practice medicine at Pittman Hospital, keeping an
office directly across from Dr. Pittman, his father-in-law. “My father was loved among poor
people,” Wade Parker Jr., said. “Whenever a patient would come in sick, he would stay with them as long as it took to get them better.” Meanwhile, Raymond and Jeanette
married when he returned home from World War II, and they had two children together, in addition to her son from an earlier marriage. As for her in-laws, Dr. and Mrs.
Pittman lived distinctly different lifestyles in their later years. Dr. Pittman was a very public persona who dined at Highland Country Club or fished regularly. In her later years, Grace Pittman did not do as much entertaining and began to stay in more often. Jeanette Pittman, who is now in her
80s and living in Raleigh, remembers Dr. Pittman fondly. “I just loved the ground he walked on,”
she said. “He once said he could perform surgery with his eyes closed. After he mastered medicine, he wanted to build
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54 | June/July • 2010
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Dr. Kalpana A. Krishna, board-certified internist Ramsey North Medical Clinic 5603 Ramsey Street 910.488.MEDS (6337) www.ramseymeds.com
