Stephen Ray Pittman

Stephen Ray Pittman 3/02/1953-9/14/2021 Stephen Ray Pittman (68) was born to John Jr. & Ellen “Louise” Pittman in Las Animas, Colorado in 1953.

When he was 5 years old they moved to Wray Colorado, where he lived and worked off and on until 1991. While Steve grew up in Wray, Colorado he participated in multiple sports and was skilled enough in discus and track to earn a college scholarship to Northeastern Jr. College. He graduated in 1975 and continued his education at the University of Northern Colorado where he earned a Bachelors of History and his teaching certification. During his time at NJC he married his high school sweetheart Janet (Seier) Brueggeman and together they had 3 boys. Michael Chase, Jason Christopher, and Daniel Cole.

Steve started his teaching career in Haigler, Nebraska teaching History and Current events for three years. He went on to Wray High School for a number of years. After Wray, he continued teaching for a span of over 40 years total. He was an educator and coach in numerous communities in Colorado including Bennett, Holyoke, Cheyenne Wells and Wray. He ended his career in Johnson, Kansas where he had continued teaching and coaching numerous sports.

Coaching was his passion and he loved his students and his athletes. One of the highlights of his coaching career was being selected to coach in the Colorado All-State game in 2004. That year he also coached in the 8-man class and won the state Championship. He moved on to be the head coach in Cheyenne Wells, where they went 27-6 and got beat by Merino in the State Championship and made the semifinals the other two years. He was a proud coach and made that part of his life's work.

Steve was an animal lover and had many golden retrievers for years who were his loyal companions and best friends, Sunny (1), Breezy, Sunny (2), Elvis and Molly. Maggie, his beloved dog of 16 years, was constantly by his side and although not a golden was his loyal sidekick in everything. He loved all animals and took better care of them than he did himself.

In 1995, he met Toni Dorsey, they built a life together and lived in various places until they settled in Johnson, KS. They were together all of the time until her death in 2012.

Steve is preceded in death by both of his parents.

He is survived by his sons, Mike (Jennifer) Pittman of Newton, KS; Jason (Erin) Brueggeman of Frederick, CO; Danny (Tiffany) Pittman of Gilbert, AZ; six grandchildren, Samantha, Taryn, Peyton, Parker, Finnigan and Fianna; his brother, Andy Pittman of Daytona, Florida, his nieces and nephews and many others that loved and cared for him throughout the years.

There will be a memorial and visitation time at 2pm with the family on Saturday, October 16, 2021 at the Schmidt- Jones Funeral home, 427 Adams Street Wray, Colorado 80758 . Please bring all your stories to share with the family. Steve will be buried with his parents in Wray. In Lieu of flowers donations could be made to your local high school athletic department, the humane society or a dog rescue organization.