William Robert Pitman, 85

William Robert Pitman, 85, of Athol, Idaho, passed away Oct. 2, 2024.

Will was born May 23, 1939, to Raymond and Virginia Pitman in Denver, Colo., and moved to Richland, Wash., in 1944, at 5 years old. After graduating high school in Richland, he obtained a master’s degree in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. Soon after, due to his adventurous spirit and chasing the mighty dollar, he moved to Tripoli, Libya, where he and his family lived for seven years. During this time in Libya, many long vacations were taken throughout Europe, the Middle East and Russia. Due to political unrest, he moved his family back to the United States, working first in Lake Charles, La., then Casper, Wyo., and in 1980, to the town of Athol, Idaho.

After moving to Idaho, many years were spent attempting cattle ranching, farming and logging. He eventually fell back on his education and went to work for the state of Idaho as a petroleum engineer. Since, of course, no oil was ever discovered in Idaho, he garnered the nickname Dry Hole Pitman by his petroleum industry colleagues and transferred to the Lake Protection Department, possibly making him the first petroleum engineer/environmentalist.

In 2001, Will retired from the state and went full-time into his hobbies, which included restoring vintage cars, building wooden boats, fishing, skiing and spending time with his sons and grandson. Will’s curiosity and interest in learning never left him. In the evenings, he could be seen looking through a telescope, sitting outside, reflecting on life while watching and listening to Mother Nature. A true renaissance man, Will also enjoyed playing chess with his grandson, strumming one of his many guitars, playing his piano and spewing wisdom at every opportunity, only now that he’s gone do some understand the wisdom he had.

Later in life, he took on the role of land steward, managing his timber property near Garfield Bay on Lake Pend Oreille and taking pride in planting at least as many trees as he had harvested. He would say, "I’ll never get the benefit of these saplings, but maybe my grandchildren will, and it’s the right thing to do."

Will loved his final home in Athol, Idaho, and the many characters who lived there. For that reason, he always took pride in paying his taxes (the least I could do for this amazing community, he would say) and was a proud, outspoken Democrat.

Will will be remembered for his adventurous spirit, his good sense of humor and devotion to his family.