Elder, Clarice Townsend-Pittman
ELDER, Clarice Townsend Pittman
April 26, 1937 -October 1, 2020
Born in New York City, first child of Henry Wooten Pittman Jr. and Sara Bissell Townsend Pittman, Clarice Pittman Elder was predeceased by a brother Henry Wooten Pittman III and survived by a sister, Marilu Pittman Sherer (Peter). She moved to Dedham, MA, then to Maplewood, NJ where she graduated from Columbia High School (1954). She chose Wesleyan College in Macon, GA, as her institution of higher learning, a decision she never regretted. While there Clarice served on several of the boards and committees and was elected as May Queen and Senior Superlative. She was recently awarded Wesleyan's Distinguished Alumnae Award.
After graduation (1958) she moved to Atlanta and worked for McFadden Publications as an associate editor. She met her life-long love, Gene Elder, in the parking lot of their apartments over a broken bottle of wine. They were married in 1959 and together created three exceptional children, Sara Pittman Randall (Mike), Jonathan Lamar Elder (Buffy), and Clarice Eliza Streete (John). And these children created eight beloved grandchildren, Clarice ("Clarie") and Henry Randall, Anne, Catherine, Mary Stuart and Charles Elder, and Sara and Alec Streete. She was thrilled as her family recently grew with the addition of two step-grandchildren, Ann and Lawson Driskill. As her grandchildren were growing up, she reveled in traveling with them to London and yearly trips to the beach. They fondly called her the "cool grandmother".
One of her greatest passions was miniatures, conceiving and creating dollhouses, room boxes and vignettes. The working motto of every miniaturist is "make what you can and buy the rest." Because of this she became a designer and stitcher of needlework patterns of rugs, pillows, coverlets and more for the small scale. These charted designs were published in booklet forms and sold nationally and internationally. She was a member of the Atlanta Miniature Society and had served in practically every office, some of them twice.
Another great passion was genealogy. Clarice traced the ancestors of her parents and her in-laws and discovered a myriad of interesting facts, the neatest of which was that she was a direct descendent from one of the original Salem witches. She was a member of the Associated Daughters of Early American Witches.
Clarice was seriously involved in church work, volunteering in any capacity she was able. She was a member of St. Luke's Presbyterian (Dunwoody) where she served as a Deacon and then as an Elder; a member of North Decatur Presbyterian, where she served as an Elder; and most recently she served as an Elder at Mount Vernon Presbyterian (Sandy Springs).
She was an avid artist taking all sorts of classes in many different mediums. Her collages and creations from found objects adorn her home as well as her children's homes. She was known to enlist young grandchildren in collecting "trash treasures" on their adventures.
Everywhere she went she made friends. Her bright smile and genuine interest in all the people she met endeared her to so many. She was creative and bold, had a witty sense of humor and infectious laugh. All of us who knew and loved her are better people because of her.
Books held a high place in her life. For forty years she belonged to the Bibliophilistic Society and more recently led the Book Circle at her church.
Her memorial service will be held at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church (471 Mount Vernon Hwy, Sandy Springs, GA) on 1 November 2020 at 3pm. In-person attendance will be restricted to immediate family but the service will be live streamed. Please join in using the following link: https://mvpchurch.org/livestream-worship/.
If you so desire, donations can be made in Clarice's memory to Wesleyan College (4760 Forsyth Rd., Macon, GA 31210) and designate Art Restoration Fund.
And because she always liked to have the last word - in Clarice's words "I was given the gift of life and now I have to give it back. This is hard but I was a lucky woman, who led a lucky existence, and for this I am grateful. It's a beautiful day, happy to have been here."
