Baaron Pittenger was born July 15, 1925, in Kansas City, Missouri to Baaron B. Pittenger and Mabel Tamm Pittenger. His parents divorced when he was young and he lived with various family members and friends of the family throughout his youth attending thirteen different schools in eight states.
Baaron graduated from The Taft School in 1944. His Taft yearbook states, “That if it involves sports and Baaron doesn’t know it, it is not worth knowing”. A statement shared by many friends and colleagues until his dying day. After graduating from Taft, he enlisted in the Navy and served on the U.S.S. Missouri and witnessed the end of the World War II in the Pacific. He rejoined the Navy Reserves from 1946 to 1951.
While attending college at Penn State and graduating from Penn State. He also attended classes at Bloomsburg college where he met his wife S. Anne Williams Pittenger in Bloomsburg, PA and they married on December 26, 1946 in a double wedding ceremony with Anne’s sister Stella and James Fulton. Baaron and his bride were married for 72 years. After marrying they moved around the Northeast where he worked for several newspapers as a sports reporter. He served at Brown and Harvard as Sports Information Director. Baaron also served as the Associate Director of Athletics at Harvard from 1970 until 1971.
His son Baaron, III was born in 1961. Many of Baaron’s best memories were attending sporting events with his son including the World Series and watching their beloved Red Sox win. This trend continued once his grandson was born and they attended baseball games together. While living in New England, the family loved to spend summer vacations in Maine.
In 1977, he moved to Colorado after joining the United States Olympic Committee and started the National Sports Festival and was directly involved in moving the Olympic Committee from New York City to the former ENT Airforce Base. He served as the Assistant Director of the USOC and then the Executive Director from 1988 to 1990. After leaving the United States Olympic Committee, he became the Executive Director of U.S.A. Hockey. He left U.S.A Hockey in 1993. and joined the Massachusetts Sports Partnership allowing Baaron and Anne to move back to their beloved New England. The lived there until 1997 when they decided to retire back to Colorado Springs. He led the effort to create the United States Anti-Doping Agency (an agency he fought to form while he was at the Olympic Committee) as served as special assistant to the CEO for 10 years.
Baaron was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs for over 30 years. He served to Lord as an Elder, Trustee, and Ushering on Sunday mornings. He enjoyed ushering with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson at the 11:00 Sanctuary services and at Holiday Services.
He and his wife attended Olympic Games in Seoul, Sydney, Los Angeles, Calgary, Lillehammer, Lake Placid. Baaron and Anne loved to travel together whether cruising in Alaska or outside Moscow or visiting friends and family around the United States.
Baaron is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Anne in 2019, his son Baaron in 2016. He is survived by his Daughter-in-Law Sara and Grandson Baaron as well as his niece Betsy Turbacuski (and family) and nephew James Fulton (and family) of Connecticut.
Swan Law Funeral Home in Colorado Springs is in charge of arrangements. Private graveside services will be held February 1. The family is planning a memorial service this summer to honor the life of Baaron Pittenger for his family and friends.
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