Bryan Wesley Pittman

Bryan was born on September, 23, 1935, to Howard John Pittman and Goldie Fay Riley in Oklahoma City, but lived his life and built his business in Midwest City. Bryan was a proud Midwest City Bomber, graduating from Midwest City in 1955.

He married Barbara Yvonne Evett on February 21, 1957. They raised four children, Randy Joe Pittman, Michelle (Shelly) Ann Pittman, Daniel Bryan Pittman and Paula Kay Pittman. He moved his family to Harrah in 1972 but continued growing his business in Midwest City.

Bryan began working as a mechanic for Clyde Smith on 15th street in Midwest City when he was 15, squeezing work in between his high school classes. His work ethic, ability to quickly learn, and commitment to his work earned him Clyde’s trust and he became the manager of the gas station and garage when he was 17. He quickly built a reputation for being an excellent mechanic, an honest business man with unmatched integrity, and a man with a heart for his customers, most of whom became his lifelong friends.

When the building on 15th was sold, Bryan purchased a garage on Air Depot and Bryan’s Champlin was born. Though the gas company name changed over the years, it remained Bryan’s and it became an icon for the mid-del area. Bryan never advertised a day in his career, but he had more work than he could do because his customers did his advertising for him. They always knew he would treat them with honesty and kindness. He struggled to charge the high prices that other mechanics were charging because he just didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. His customers trusted him and he cherished that trust and would never betray it.

For 58 years Bryan ran a prosperous and impeccable business with his wife by his side doing his books, managing his inventory and business responsibilities. She also made and sent him to work with great crock pot meals to share with his employees, most frequent customers, friends and business owners who worked near him. He had frequent customer perks long before the airlines caught on! His warm smile, congenial nature and quick sense of humor earned him friends and loyal customers, some who traded with him the full 58 years that he was in business.

He was one of few full service gas stations in the greater Oklahoma City area. And when he said full service, he meant it! He and his employees would start the gas pumping then check the air level in the tires, check the oil and washed the windows…no streaks allowed! He was known for wearing his white v-neck t-shirt and gray or blue work pants in the rain, snow or sun.

Bryan was known for his kind heart. If people didn’t have money to pay for the work they needed on their car, he would do their work on credit. Not credit cards, but credit, trusting that when their money came in he would be paid for the work he did on their car. In fact, he had multiple people and companies who he gave credit to, giving them gas or doing mechanic work and not asking for payment from them until the end of the month. He did this for customers until the day he retired in 2010. A concept that is unheard of these days! He especially loved spoiling his “ladies”. Women who were widows or who lived alone who never really knew much about cars. He would drive over to their homes and take of their flat tire, bring it back to the station and repair it, then run it back over and put it on their car and never charge them a penny. He made repairs and did simple things like replacing wiper blades without asking for payment, especially when he knew the person didn’t really have the funds to pay him. And he never told a soul about his good deeds. He just did the right thing because it was the right thing to do.

Bryan retired in 2010 and his family threw a retirement party for him. The station was a hum of activity all afternoon with friends and customers flowing through for some of Barbara and Shelly’s delicious food. Even the mayor of Midwest City came by to thank him for caring for the people of Midwest City and Del City for so many years. It was a day he treasured for the rest of his life.

Bryan loved cars and loved working on them, and that was his passion. But he also dearly loved his wife of 58 years and his family and would do anything for them. He loved playing and watching all sports, but especially football. He would watch an occasional movie, but he could watch sports all day, a treat he was able to indulge in once he retired. In his younger years he enjoyed fishing and would take his children fishing when he could. He always made time to treat his family to a vacation when possible, and he took great pride in providing for his wife and children. When his grandchildren came along, he doted on them and loved spending time with them whenever he could. He loved babies and children and was thrilled when his great grandchildren were born, making sure to display their pictures and show them off to everyone who asked about them.

Bryan is survived by his children, Randy Pittman (Kitty), Danny Pittman (Laura), and Paula Pittman and his grandchildren Bryan Pittman (Jennie), Adam Pittman (Meghan) and Allison Snider (Michael), as well as his precious great grandchildren, Daniel Pittman, Luke Pittman, Charle (Charlotte) Pittman, Avary Pittman, Marlow Snider and Bonnie Snider, multiple nieces and nephews that he cherished and his dear friends Chris and Carol Clark and Gayland Griffin, who cared for him like family.

In addition to his parents, Bryan was preceded in death by his loving and devoted wife, Barbara Pittman, his daughter, Shelly Pittman, his three siblings and their spouses Howard Gene Pittman, Dorothy Taylor and her husband Ed Taylor and Donald Pittman and his wife Sandra Pittman.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, April 2 at 2:00 pm at Bill Eisenhour Funeral Home at Sunny Lane Cemetery, 4000 SE 29th St., Del City, OK, 73115, with Larry Chamlee officiating.

Interment will follow at Arlington Memory Gardens, 3400 N. Midwest Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK, 73141.

A gathering with light refreshments will be held immediately after the graveside service at Bryan’s Man Cave, 233 W Macarthur Dr. in Midwest City. All are encouraged and welcome to attend.

Pallbearers will be Chris Clark, Bryan Pittman, Adam Pittman, Michael Snider, Michael Wilson and David Evett.

Special thanks to the sweet women at the Arbor House Assisted Living Center who gave Bryan special love and attention in the last months of his life. We will always be grateful to Melissa, Betsy, Angela, Lauren, Jennifer, Karen and Sammie for your loving care, and to Andrea who made sure Bryan had the care he needed.

In lieu of flowers, please do what Bryan did every day, perform an act of kindness to someone who is in need of a smile, a friend or a lending hand. See the best in people and do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do.