Doyle Pittman, 80, passed away at his home on Saturday, May 2, 2020.

Services will be held Wednesday, May 6, 2020 in the Heartland Funeral Home Chapel.

Visitation will be Tuesday, May 5, 2020 for friends to come in and sign the book, the family will be present from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at Heartland Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will be at Pleasant Valley Cemetery officiated by Pastor Bill Allen.

Doyle was born to Vernon and Arabella (Lee) Pittman in May, Texas on April 9, 1940. He graduated from May High School in 1958 but furthered his education for many years. He received an Associate of Science in Chemistry from Tarleton State College in 1960, a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and Mathematics from Howard Payne College in 1962, a Master of Computing Science in Computer Science from Texas A&M University in 1970, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Research from North Texas State University in 1984.

Doyle spent more than 30 years teaching. His first six years were spent teaching Algebra, plane geometry, and trigonometry to high school students in Grandfalls, Robert Lee, and White Deer, Texas. While teaching in Grandfalls, he met the new home economics teacher, Marcia Campbell in August of 1963 and married her on December 22, 1963. Their 56-year marriage was blessed with 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. After a year at Wayne State University for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Academic Year Institute and completing his Masters degree, Doyle taught Computer Science at East Texas State University, the University of Texas at Tyler, Dallas Baptist University, Howard Payne University, and Tarleton State University. Over the years, he taught assembly language, Fortran, Basic, and countless other courses. In addition, for four years, Doyle was a Software Engineer (programming in assembly language and Fortran) at E-Systems Inc. in Greenville, Texas. After retiring from Tarleton in May 2000, Doyle returned to teaching for a final semester and finally retired again in 2001.

In 1973, Doyle became a member of the Alpha Chapter of Epsilon Delta Pi, honor society in the Computer Sciences. He was also a member of the American Educational Research Association; the Association for Computing Machinery; Kappa Delta Pi, international honor society in education; and SIGCUE (Special Interest Group in Computer Users in Education).

In retirement, Doyle enjoyed playing with his grandchildren, reading the newspaper, napping, eating ice cream, spending time with his beloved boxer, Duke, and dispensing words of wisdom such as “consider the source, ignore it, and go on from there.” Doyle was the family historian. He knew all of the intricacies of the Pittman, Harris, Dunsworth, and Lee families including his numerous cousins and even some who were double-cousins. Doyle also spent countless hours in service to the Pleasant Valley Cemetery Association. He spent 25 years serving various roles of their Board of Directors, including President and Treasurer. He also showed plots to families and marked graves for many years before having to give that up in 2017 due to his declining health. He and his wife have been active members at Coggin Avenue Baptist Church for nearly thirty years and have both taught Sunday School many of those years.

Doyle is preceded in death by his father Vernon Pittman, mother Arabella Pittman, father-in-law William “Bill” Campbell, mother-in-law Virginia Campbell, and brother-in-law Alton Goddard.

Doyle is survived by his wife Marcia Pittman of Early; sisters, Wynell Goddard of Tyler and Verna Mae Pittman of Rotan; daughter, Laurie and Mary Kniffin of Flower Mound and their children Cameron Dudley and wife Nicole, Derek Rivera, and Dana Rivera; daughter, Michelle and Raymond Wells of Brownwood and their children Skyler and Peyton; son, Alan and Ashley Pittman of College Station and their children Alanna, Karsen, James, and Tate; daughter, Shannon and Doug Turner of Early and their children Hayden and Aaron; and great-grandchildren Chloe, Addilynn, and Fallynn Dudley of Jacksonville.

Condolences, tributes and memorials can be shared with the family at www.heartlandfuneralhome.net

The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Amy Tindol, CMS Home Health, and Solaris Hospice for caring for our husband and father. Also, we wish to especially thank Christina Cox for being with us to the very end.