Benetta Banks Pitts

Benetta (Nita) Pitts of Silver Spring, Maryland entered this life on June 30,1944 and God called her home on August 14, 2017. A native of Memphis Tennessee, Benetta was one of ten children born to Timothy and Emma Banks. Her Parents along with two sisters- Janice Lucas and Emma Jean Lang and her four brothers - Timothy Jr., Kenneth Ray, Bennie and David, preceded her in death. At an early age, Benetta accepted Christ and was baptized at Ebenezer M.B. Church in Memphis. She attended the public school of Memphis, TN and Marion, AK.

Following in her older brother's footsteps, Benetta entered the military through the Women's Army Corp in the early 1960s. Her training in nursing began in Anniston, AL and San Antonio, TX. She went on to Frankfort, Germany where she spent 3 years as an Emergency Room nursing assistant at the 97th General Hospital. It was in Germany that Benetta became roommates and subsequent lifelong friends with Judith (Judy) Gannon who always called her "Nita" Upon leaving Germany, Benetta re-enlisted for an additional three years, which took her (and Judy) to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C. At Walter Reed, Nita not only cared for Vietnam vets during the Vietnam War era but she met and married her love, Dr. Milton Pitts.

Benetta's military service became the launching pad for a purpose-filled life serving her country's veterans. She found her passion early at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center where her career spanned over four decades.

Benetta (Nita) leaves to cherish her memory a son, Marc Milton Pitts and wife Sonja, daughter Tia Pitts Smith, six grandchildren - Marc, Ahmani, Martyn (Marty), Faith, Trinity and Brooke, siblings- Vera Dean Churn, Patricia Jack (Johnny) and Georgia "Faye" Phelps (Vance), and a host of other relatives and close friends.