Joan Elaine Pitman

Loving wife, animal lover (especially dogs), avid reader and computer solitaire enthusiast, Joan Snyder Pitman, 80 years old, of College Station, passed away peacefully on August 23, 2025 after a lengthy illness.

She was born in Lansing, Michigan, on May 19, 1945, to Vivian Irene Chick and William S Snyder. At a young age her parents divorced and she moved with her father to Florida, where she grew to adulthood. She attended Palmetto High School and graduated in 1963. She loved the beach and spent many happy hours with friends there. At one point her father owned a used car dealership, and she learned to drive before she was old enough to have a license, parking cars and moving them to and from the repair shops.

In 1982 she rode with a friend to College Station, where she met and eventually fell in love with Charles, aka ‘chaz’, Pitman. They married in 1985 in a house they were having built and began their lifelong journey together. Chaz has been active in community theatre in the Brazos Valley for most of his adult life, and Joan was ever the ‘wind beneath his wings,‘ supporting him in his endeavors. She acted in a few of the shows, helped with costumes, props and general administration. At one point, she served as President of Stagecenter while he was President of the Navasota Theatre Alliance.

Joan was a life-long staffer at Texas A&M University. At various times in her career, she was a print center specialist and managed the Copy Center in the MSC. She briefly left the University to run a quick copy shop for Newman Printing, but returned to become a purchasing specialist for Agrilife Extension. After her retirement, Joan was property manager for the Galleria Building next to Aldi in Bryan.

Joan was a voracious reader and could finish most novels in a single afternoon. She was especially fond of the John D McDonald ‘Travis McGee’ series, but liked Harlequin romance stories and the books by such novelists as Danielle Steel and Suzanne Collins. She was an animal lover, which led to Chaz and her adopting several senior rescue dogs over the course of their lives. One of her fondest memories was they once had three doggies named Muffin, Missy and Max, being a poodle, a pom, and a peke. They also loved cats and would frequently be owned by several at a time, and once even fostered an entire litter for the Humane Society.

Joan was preceded in death by her mother Vivian Chick, her father Bill Snyder, and her beloved stepmother Ruth Peadon. She is survived by her husband, Charles.

A Celebration of Life for Joan will be held at the Callaway-Jones Funeral Center in Bryan on Wednesday, September 3rd, at 2pm. There will be a small private interment at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Joan would ask donations be made in her honor to the Aggieland Humane Society.