Jacquelin (Jackie) Pitts passed away peacefully at home on Friday, August 30th, 2024, surrounded by family and close friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Fredric Gardner Pitts and Alice Fox Pitts, her sister, Dorothy Patricia Vellrath, her brothers, Marc Pitts and Bruno Fox Pitts, and her nephew, Marc Vellrath. She is survived by her nephews Andrew Vellrath, Timothy Vellrath, Fredric Pitts, Robert Pitts, and David Pitts, and by her nieces Phoebe Lake and Shirley van Doorn, as well as numerous grandnieces and nephews. She is also survived by her many friends from her years at Sanford School and in lacrosse and field hockey, who became her family.
Jackie was born in 1937, in Kennett Square, PA, but grew up primarily in the Wilmington, Delaware area. Jackie attended high school at Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware. After earning a Bachelor of Science from Saint Lawrence University in Canton, NY, she returned to Sanford School in 1959 and dedicated the next 55 years to the school as an outstanding and beloved educator, role model, and friend to generations of her “tigers” from around the globe.
Beyond Sanford School, the other biggest loves of Jackie’s life were the sport of lacrosse, travel, and the many dear friendships she cultivated through her travels, lacrosse, and the school.
Jackie’s lacrosse experience spans the entire spectrum of the sport: player, coach, educator, camp director, administrator, and pioneer of women’s lacrosse. She played club lacrosse for the Philadelphia Bandits and the Philadelphia Women’s Lacrosse Association. Jackie was an 8-time All-American member of the U.S. Lacrosse team – captaining the team twice – and was a member of the Touring Team over several years. After leaving the team as a player, Jackie was head coach of the US squad from 1979 to 1987, and she led the team to win the first World Cup in 1982.
Jackie has acted as president & vice-president of both the U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Association and the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations. She is responsible for the growth of lacrosse in Japan and Czechoslovakia.
Closer to home, Jackie encouraged the talents of new and experienced youth players through the International Hockey and Lacrosse Camp, which Jackie founded together with Dr. Nancy Sawin. Jackie ran the camp for many years with the support of a number of individuals, including her sister Pat Vellrath. The camp featured coaches from the U.S., Dutch, English, Scottish, and Welsh National Teams, and Jackie maintained a close friendship with those coaches until the end of her life. The Welsh coaches, in particular, visited back and forth with Jackie every year in the decades since the camp closed.
Jackie’s dedication and contributions to the sport of lacrosse brought her many accolades, including induction into the Halls of Fame at St. Lawrence University and Sanford School, as well as the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame, the U.S. A. Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame. She is a legendary member of U.S. Lacrosse and was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.
Jackie also loved to travel. She traveled as a lacrosse player and coach, and later as an ambassador for lacrosse. She traveled with family and friends for pleasure, and she traveled with students, both as a teacher and as a chaperone, especially in conjunction with her work for People to People International (PTPI). At last count, Jackie had visited over eighty countries across the globe, many of them multiple times. Jackie’s vibrant and magnetic personality gathered people to her wherever she went. Her ability to make immediate connections with people earned her many lifelong friendships.
Jackie’s legacy lives on locally at Sanford School, where Pitts Field was dedicated in 2002, and nationwide with the annual U.S. Lacrosse Jackie Pitts Award, which recognizes high school senior female players throughout the United States who go above and beyond in service to their team, school, and community.
The impact Jackie had on so many lives cannot be measured. She leaves behind an unparalleled legacy and will be sorely missed by her family and her many, many dear friends, whom she considered her family.
The family would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Comfort Keepers aides who attended and befriended Jackie over the final years of her life. Their respectful and loving care was instrumental in allowing Jackie to maintain a high quality of life and happiness. Our thanks also go to Delaware Hospice for their special care and support, especially in Jackie’s final days. They were a great comfort to those caring for Jackie at the end.
A Celebration of Life for Jackie will be held on October 20, 2024, at 10 am at the Sanford School. A livestream link is available here: https://www.youtube.com/live/FQ2miFiF450 In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to Sanford School, 6900 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin DE 19707 (www.sanfordschool.org) and to USA Lacrosse, for the benefit of the Women’s National Team Program, 2 Loveton Circle, Sparks MD 21152 (www.usalacrosse.com).
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