Flora Mae Pittard

Flora Mae Connelley Pittard went to her heavenly home Saturday, May 19, in Arlington. Funeral Service: 10:00 a.m. Friday, May 25, at Tate Springs Baptist Church, 4201 Little Rd., Arlington. Interment: 1:00 p.m., Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas. Visitation: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at Wade Family Funeral Home, 4140 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Women's Center of Tarrant County or a charity of your choice. Flora was born to Florence Melba (Mack) and Charles Herbert Connelley in Borger, Texas, one of eight siblings. She was always called “Liddy” by the Connelleys after one of her sisters exclaimed “Look at the liddy biddy baby!” After completing nursing school at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Flora went to work at Hendrick Memorial Hospital in Abilene where she met her beloved husband of 59 years, Bill. He says that he fell in love with her when she walked into the hospital cafeteria in a white dress (not a nurse's uniform.) After stints at Hendrick Memorial and Abilene State School, many years as a stay-at-home mother to Cathy, Bill Jr. and Melba, and a move to Burkburnett, she attended Midwestern State University to complete her bachelor and master degrees. She began her long career with MHMR in facilities for adults with intellectual disabilities. Her children remember Flora practicing the classes she taught for residents on the family, especially the self-defense class and her signature move “The Crunch.” After a move to El Paso, she went to work for Texas State Long Term Regulatory as a surveyor, retiring as district program administrator. Flora was an avid birder and Audubon Society member and a dedicated member of the Baptist church. Her Sunday School friends will miss her lessons. After moving to Arlington, she was a keen competitor in her age group at the Victory Over Violence Walk/Run. She is preceded in death by her parents, sisters Beverly and Phyllis and brother Mack. Survived by, in addition to husband and children, sisters Billie Jacobini and Melba Connelley; brothers Ray Connelly and Michael (Brenda) Connelley; and many nieces and nephews. Wade Family Funeral Home (817) 274-9233