Rufus Pitts

Rufus Pitts, 69, of Rogue River, Ore., went home to be with his Lord Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009 at Rogue Valley Medical Center. A private graveside service was held at Woodville Cemetery in Rogue River on September 11th. A memorial celebration of his life will be held on September 26th at 3:00 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, 4233 E. Evans Creek Rd., Rogue River, OR. Pastors Lenny Brewer and Steve Graham will be officiating. There will be a meal after the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the food bank in your area. Rufus was born Nov. 6, 1939 in Stephens County, Ga., to Reppard and Matt Coax Pitts. When he was 17 he joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego, Calif. While in the Navy he met his soon to be wife, Judy Emerson and they married Feb. 14, 1959 in Costa Mesa, Calif. They had 50 1/2 wonderful years and celebrated their anniversary with a party at the church in June. He worked as a yacht and boat painter in Lido Isle, Calif., until he and his family moved to Rogue River in 1972. He was a house painter with his own business until 1985 when he went to work as a painter at the VA in White City. He retired from there in 2001. He had been an active Elder in Foots Creek Church and later at Butte Creek Bible Church in Eagle Point. This last year he had been attending Grace Baptist Church. He was active in youth groups for 35 years and did hospital and ministry visits for over 35 years and was a friend to all. Rufus is survived by his wife, Judy; daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Joseph Schram, of Rogue River, Ore.; two wonderful grandsons (who he was so proud of), Justin and Benjamin Schram; two sisters in Georgia, Inez Merck and Eunice Parker, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Ralph and Valerie Emerson, of Jacksonville, Ore.; 11 nieces and nephews; many great-nieces and great-nephews; and so many good friends. Messages to the family may be put on the guestbook site at www.legacy.com