Obituary: Rev. Raymond L. "Ray" Bittner

The Reverend Raymond Bittner passed away peacefully at Pine Shadows Manor in Sylvester Sunday afternoon on February 11, 2024 at the age of 100 1/2 years old. 

The funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at Poulan United Methodist Church, interment will follow in the Poulan Cemetery. The Rev. Dan Harper and Mr. Calvin Bittner will officiate. 

Ray was born 07/18/1923 in Coloma, Michigan. He was the son of Otto and Florence (Umphrey) Bittner. A very significant event happened in Ray’s life, when at the age of 16 during Sunday school class at the Coloma Methodist Church, he realized he was not a believer, that he was a lost soul, and very deserving of God’s wrath. Over the course of the next year, Ray diligently sought the Lord through Bible study, church, and fellowship with believers. Ray credits his Sunday school teacher, and their many interactions, with coming to a true saving faith at the age of 17 when one night in his basement bedroom he felt a peace come over him, that he did have saving faith and so he prayed for forgiveness and surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

After Ray graduated from high school in 1941, he attended Moody Bible Institute in nearby Chicago. During the next four years Ray’s part-time ministry work on the weekends included a Chinese congregation in downtown Chicago and two small churches near Coloma. 

Ray met the love of his life, Jeanette, in the summer of 1947 at her large and vibrant Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan during an evening service in which Ray gave his testimony. Six months later, Ray and Jeanette were married. Over the next 16 years they had five children. Ray finished college and seminary in 1957 at Calvin College and Seminary in Grand Rapids and was ordained into the Presbyterian USA denomination. After serving five years as a Presbyterian pastor in two different churches in Michigan, a series of events led him to move his family to Savannah, Georgia in 1963. In 1964, Ray returned to his Methodist roots and became a Methodist pastor in the South Georgia Conference. Over the next 50 years, Ray pastored 30 different Methodist churches, mostly small rural churches with small congregations. These included Poulan, Sumner, Shingler, Warwick, Beulah and lastly Clements Chapel when he was in his late 80s. In 2019, at the age of 96, he was called out of retirement yet again to preach Sunday services at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Ashburn. At 98, after thoughtful prayer, he felt the Lord telling him to retire for good. 

Ray was an avid handball player, and the YMCA was like a second home to him. In fact, Ray rented a room at the YMCA in Grand Rapids for over two years in the 1940s before marrying Jeanette. He won large city tournaments as a singles player. His last first place trophy was in a Savannah city tournament for doubles in 1992 at the age of 69. This was a general competition for all ages, and most of the participants were young men. 

Ray is survived by his five children: Karen Woods (Donnie Basko), Linda Aultman (Bruce), Calvin Bittner (Renee), Deborah Hiles, and Janice Poston (Rick). Ray has 11 grandchildren and a bunch of great grandchildren. Ray was the oldest of five children and is survived by his youngest brother Larry Bittner (Roseanne) of Coloma, Michigan.