Obituary of James Allen Pettit

FORT WORTH -- James Allen Pettit, 81, passed away on Thursday, May 26, 2016. Service: 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Wedgwood Baptist Church, 5522 Whitman Ave., Fort Worth. Interment: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Martin Thompson & Son Funeral Home, 6009 Wedgwood Drive, Fort Worth. James was born on July 6, 1934, in Buffalo, N.Y., to Helen and Charles Pettit. He grew up in the Masonic Home in Utica, N.Y. James retired from the United States Air Force after 20 years. He owned Butler Antiques, and enjoyed woodworking and being a jack-of-all-trades. James was a lifelong Mason. James was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Charles and Robert Pettit; and stepdaughter, Connie Leavitt. Survivors: Wife, Gayle Leavitt Pettit; daughters, Mary Lee Fischer and husband, Mark, and Jill Steele and husband, Larry; stepsons, Mark and Doug Leavitt and wife, Lyn; grandchildren, Cleatus and Audrey Steele and fiance, Ryan Skillern, Chad and wife, Tricia, Jenny, Mellany, Spencer "all Leavitts" and his fiancee, Erika Nichols, Marshal and Miranda McMullen; and 10 great-grandchildren.