CONSTANCE B. PETTIT "Connie" (Age 77)
Of Springfield, Virginia passed away on Friday, November 22, 2019, following a lengthy battle with Parkinson's disease. Connie was born July 13, 1942, in Jacksonville, Florida to John K. and Dorothy D. Burroughs (nee Dorothy H. Davis). The family soon relocated to Winston- Salem, North Carolina, where Connie was raised and ultimately graduated from high school at Salem Academy. A life-long lover of the written word, she earned a bachelor's degree with honors in English from Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and then went on to teach English at Varina High School in Henrico County, Virginia. It was here in Richmond, Virginia, where she met her soon-to-be husband, Harold Thomas "Tom" Pettit, and where their two children were born. In 1984, they moved to Springfield, Virginia, which would be their home for the remaining decades. Throughout her life, Connie was known for her calm, tender and incredibly kind spirit, as well as her generous handwritten notes that she continued to send to friends and family until her final weeks. She had a special way of connecting with those in need of soothing, gentle care, especially young children and the elderly. In 1985, she helped to establish the preschool program at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Burke, Virginia, where she taught for many years. The St. Andrew's Church community would become, and still remains, a central part of the Pettit family. Connie served on the Church vestry, sang in the choir, was a Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teacher, and a volunteer with both the Fairfax Area Christian Emergency and Transitional Services (FACETS) organization and the Hospice Foundation. She is survived by her husband, Tom, their children Virginia P. Sertich (her husband, John) and Thomas W. "Will" Pettit (his wife, Beth), and grandchildren Lawson Pettit and Margaret Sertich, as well as another Grandson Pettit due in March 2020. In Connie's memory, donations are invited to the St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Preschool, 6509 Sydenstricker Road, Burke, Virginia 22015. A memorial service will be held at the same address on Saturday, December 7, 2019, at 2 p.m.