Cora Pitts Obituary

Cora Ledbetter Pitts

June 18, 1923 - April 19, 2025

Cora Ledbetter Pitts died on April 19, 2025. She is survived by way too many loving relatives to mention here.

Cora Minta Ledbetter was born on June 18, 1923 in Polkton, North Carolina. She attended Queen's College in Charlotte and during the Second World War she worked for British Intelligence in Washington, DC.

She met Grover Pitts on a blind date in Washington and they married in 1947. They had their first son there in 1949 and then moved to Charlottesville in 1950 where Grover accepted a position in the UVa Medical School. He began research on the circadian rhythms of white rats and also teaching medical students and Cora took care of their growing family. Son number two was born in 1952 and number three in 1956.

Her friends called her Cokie and she had lots of them. She was pathologically gregarious and outgoing. She would smile and start a conversation with anyone. Cokie and Grover built up a wonderful circle of life-long friends, many from the UVa faculty.

When her last son flew the nest Cokie took on a full time job as the Head Secretary in the UVa Department of Government and Foreign Affairs. She and Grover loved to travel and, unencumbered by pesky offspring, they took trips all over the US and Canada as well as Europe and the Far East.

In 2007, after both of them had retired, they moved into a cottage at The Colonnades where they were very happy. After Grover died in 2012 Cokie moved into an apartment at the Colonnades and then eventually to their Assisted Living unit.

She was a widely respected wild flower enthusiast and expert and created an extensive and impressive wild flower garden behind her home on Woodstock Drive. She was renowned for stealing wildflowers from all over central Virginia and The Valley.

She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, great grandmother and, as of 6 months ago, great-great grandmother. She recognized her family members and took great pleasure in visiting with them right up until the end. The extended family is experiencing more joy and celebration than grief. She had a long, long, wonderful life and we all got to spend so many happy hours with her. She died just two months shy of 102 years old. She often claimed the secret to her longevity was having an old fashioned every evening. Some of us secretly thought she would live forever.

There will be a memorial service for her at the Greencroft Club on Sunday, June 22 at 11:30 a.m.