In 1936 Ruth Roberts McDonald ‘36 (ABEd) and her sister Esther Roberts Pittman ’37 (AB) began a family tradition. They were the first two women out of 12 to graduate from the University of Georgia.
Ruth and Esther were both Alpha Gamma Deltas when the sorority house was on Prince Avenue. There were so few cars in Athens that the girls could pretty much ask anyone for a ride to campus. Ladies were not allowed to wear pants during their years at Georgia. At least once a week Esther remembers wearing her rain coat to class (even in dry weather) and pulling up her pajama pants so it looked like she was wearing a skirt. The Georgian (still standing beautifully today) was the ‘place to be’ in the 1930s in Athens. Esther recalls that, “if a boy took you to The Georgian for dinner then you knew he was serious about you.” After graduation, Esther and Ruth taught high school and married. Ruth raised two daughters in Brunswick, GA. Esther raised two children in Griffin, GA and just turned 94 years old. She now lives in Highlands, NC and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Esther and Ruth’s daughters Marcia Pittman Williams ’66 (ABJ), Katheryne McDonald Lunsford ’65 (BBA) and Lynda McDonald Adams ’69 (BSEd) also graduated from the University of Georgia. Marcia has two sons, is now retired and lives with her husband in Knoxville, TN. Katheryne married John Lunsford ’71 (BBA) and raised two children in Clarkesville, GA. Lynda has two children, two grandchildren, lives in St. Petersburg, FL and works for the Home Shopping Network.
Katheryne and Marcia’s cousins Sue Tyler Hill ’47 (ABEd) (married to John L. Hill ’47 [JD]), Stella Williams Bailey ’69, ’71, Dr. Charlotte McCall ’49 (BSHE), Elizabeth McCall Teller and Carolyn Pittman Anderson also graduated from UGA.
Finally, Katheryne (Michelle) Pittman Carter ‘94 (BSW) and Elizabeth Pittman Thompson ’01 (ABJ) round out the third generation of Roberts/Pittman women to graduate from UGA. Michelle works for Bright Horizons Family Solutions and is the director of Chick fil A’s Jeanette Cathy Children’s Center. She resides in East Atlanta with her husband Brad and they are expecting their first child in March. Elizabeth is the director of communications for the Atlanta Clinical & Translational Science Institute at Emory University and a member of the UGA Young Alumni Council. She and her husband Chad ’01 (BBA) live in Tucker and own a BBQ sauce company.
