Obituary: Sam Pittman

Samuel “Sam” McDaniel Pittman, 90, of Texas, longtime Southern Baptist pastor and denominational executive, died Feb. 16, 2019, following a lengthy illness. 

A native of Greenville, he was a graduate of Furman University (where he played football on a scholarship) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. He served 20 years as a pastor and director of missions in South Carolina, including pastorates at Six Mile and Mountain View Baptist churches, Six Mile; Homeland Park Baptist, Anderson; and was the founding pastor of Lee Road Baptist Church, Taylors. He was the first director of missions at Beaverdam Baptist Association. In 1973, he joined the staff of the Foreign Mission Board (now the International Mission Board) in the office of the president, serving with Baker James Cauthen, Keith Parks, and Jerry Rankin. He retired from the IMB in 1996 and served as an interim pastor in several Virginia churches. His last interim was at Smithland Baptist Church in Heathsville, Va.

Survivors include two children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Katherine “Ann” Mayhugh Pittman.