Lee Pitt was born Jan 22, 1926 and passed away on December 16, 2015, one month shy of his 90th birthday. He joined Hughes Airwest in 1970 as Director of Public Relations, a position he held until theaquisition of RW by Republic in 1980. Lee was an Aviation Writer by trade and had worked previously with the Summa Corp. Before joining RW, Lee was associated with the public relations firm of Carl Byoir & Associates in L.A. where he represented the Hughes Tool Company.
Lee graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism, Northwestern University’s graduate institute for radio and television. He also attended the University of California at L.A. and the University of Santa Clara’s advanced management studies.
Lee was most proud of the award he received in the 50’s from Governor Goodwin J. Knight of California for a story he had written about discovering aviation pioneer Charles E. Taylor who had built the engine for the first Wright Brothers airplane. Taylor was ill and destitute in a hospital. As a result of Pitt’s stories, Taylor was honored by the aviation industry and was transferred to a private sanatorium to receive the best of care until his death.