Born in Layton, Ginny grew up in Sandyston Township. When she entered Newton High School, she met the love of her life and married shortly after high school. She and her husband lived in Newton until 1957 and then moved to Hampton Township into the home her husband built for her and their children. Ginny lived in Hampton Township until 2001. Upon her husband’s death, she moved to Panther Valley and has been a resident of Allamuchy for the past 19 years.
Ginny was a loving and devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. There was nothing that brought her greater pleasure than spending time with not just her immediate family, but her extended family as well. Baking a special treat or having some little surprise for you when you visited, or she visited you, was always the norm. Whether babysitting, pet-sitting, helping with a project, or just being there for you, that was when she was happiest.
She was a past member of the Walpack Historical Society and always enjoyed reading and collecting various articles about the area where she grew up, especially relating to the impact of the Tocks Island Dam Project on the place she loved so well.
The daughter of the late Lesler and Wreath (Major) Hotalen, Ginny was also predeceased by her husband of 54 years, Herbert Pittenger, on August 9, 2000, as well as her seven siblings, L. Ernest Hotalen, Louise Lehr, Lila Schmidt, Harvey Hotalen, Patricia Dunbar, Irene Greco and Eleanor Greco. She is survived by her children, Diane L. Pittenger and her companion, Dr. Jerome Rosman, of
Allamuchy, and Perry A. Pittenger, Esq., and wife, Suzanne, of Rockaway; and her grandchildren, Kyleigh Pittenger and Hunter Pittenger, both of Rockaway. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Evelyn Hotalen of Sparta, and Margaret Pittenger of Layton; her brother-in-law, F. Victor Schmidt of Cape Charles, Virginia, as well as many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.
Services and interment are private and are under the direction of the Smith-McCracken Funeral Home, 63 High Street, Newton.
Memorial donations may be made to Father John’s Animal House, 50 Father John’s Lane, Lafayette, NJ 07860 or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude’s Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
