Thomas E. Pitts ’48

Thomas E. Pitts ’48, of Cranston, R.I.; Dec. 14. He was a mechanical engineer with Linde Air Products in Buffalo, N.Y., and then at IBM in Hyde Park, N.Y. In 1954 he returned to Rhode Island and began working at the Universal Winding Company. During his long career there (and with its successor Leesona Corporation) he designed a shoulder-mounted recoilless anti-tank gun, coilers used by the Ford Motor Company to make automobile horns, and advanced yarn winding machines. In mid-career he became chief engineer at Mount Hope Manufacturing. His work took him to India, Thailand, Egypt, and Western Europe. In retirement, he enjoyed sailing and playing tennis well into his 80s. He was a World War II U.S. Army veteran. He is survived by two sons and their spouses, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.