The first of his kind, the last of his kind. Thomas Pitts was a true original who marched to the beat of his own drum. A man of a thousand lives, he was finally taken to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 26, 2026, to be reunited with so many loved ones who passed before him, most importantly his mom and dad. A man of faith, a devout Catholic who read the bible daily, Tom had no fear of passing, as there wasn’t a doubt in his mind about where he was going.
Born April 7, 1949, to John and Joyce Pitts in Kenosha, WI, Tom spent most of his life in his hometown. After graduating from Tremper High School, Tom studied at UW-Oshkosh, where he received a degree in Urban and Regional Planning.
Tom moved back home and became a City Planner, designing many of the neighborhoods we live in today. In the late 70s, Tom took on a new venture, starting Tom Pitts Realty. Tom brokered multiple major development deals, notably the Prime Outlets in Pleasant Prairie and the Kenosha Industrial Park, and also spent time as owner/operator of the Prairie Harbor Marina. Tom was brilliant in the field of real estate and land planning, and never stopped creating new visions for the area. Tom was proud to have his brother and nephews carry on what he started at Pitts Brothers Real Estate.
Tom was an explorer and lover of nature, living on the road for 10 years, spending time in every nook and cranny of our Country, the majority of which was spent camping in state and national parks, with extended stays in the Pacific Northwest and Rangely, Maine. Despite his travels, Tom would still contest that there was no more beautiful place than northern Wisconsin, particularly Crandon, where he was so proud to say his mother’s family, the Ramsdells, homesteaded as loggers in the early 1900s.
Upon returning home, Tom turned to Hobbit, living at his cottage on the east shore of Silver Lake. A lake where shorelines are cleared and mansions are built, Tom’s property remained a safe haven for wildlife with its natural shoreline and untouched landscape, where he enjoyed nothing more than watching fish, birds, deer, rabbits, raccoons and all other living things prosper off it the way he did.
More than anything, Tom was so proud of his family, past and present. Preceded in death by his parents, John and Joyce Pitts (Ramsdell), and so many aunts and uncles among the Pitts, Ruffalo, and Ramsdell families.
Surviving are his siblings Mike (Linnea) Pitts, John Pitts, Nancy (Alan) Zeller, Peggy (Jonathon) Olson, Joan (Samuel) Spair, and Martin Pitts, 17 nieces and nephews, 31 great-nieces and nephews, and too many cousins to count.
Tom will be missed, but the footprints he left on this earth will never be washed away.
A private Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. James Catholic Church with interment at St. James Cemetery.
