Meryl S. Pittman; Loved Travel, Philanthropy

Ventura resident Meryl Sutton Pittman--who lived in Paris, Vienna, Brussels and Burma while her husband served as a comptroller with the Marshall Plan following World War II--has died. She was 92.

Pittman was born Oct. 9, 1904, in Yale, Ill., where her father owned a creamery. She moved from Illinois to Washington, D.C., where she worked as a receptionist at the State Department. In 1944, Pittman moved to Europe with her husband, Robert D. Pittman.

“She was very beautiful,” said her daughter, Janice Ivey of Ventura. “She loved men, and men loved her.”

Pittman enjoyed entertaining, and was an excellent hostess, Ivey said. She was also adventurous, learning to skate and going skiing in the Austrian Alps. While living in post-war Vienna, she helped feed the city’s poor and hungry children. In Burma, she followed local customs by leaving milk and food out at night to feed the rats.

“It’s part of their religion--they don’t kill anything,” Ivey said. “She certainly had some culture shocks along the way.”

Pittman retired to Florida, then moved to Ventura in 1972 after her husband’s death. She was a member of the Ventura Women’s Club, a volunteer at the Ventura County Medical Center, and financially supported many charities.

In addition to Ivey, Pittman is survived by son George Loving of Lockwood, Colo., five grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held Wednesday at the Ted Mayr Funeral Home in Ventura, with the Rev. Jim Wells officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to a favorite charity.