Alvin Pitts survived WWII only to be killed in his store in 1975
Nearly 50 years ago, a line of patrons stretched out the door of the Minit Mart Service and Liquor Store in Lexington.
Clutched in their hands, purses and pockets were receipts they’d gathered from years of grocery trips. They came from every corner of Oglethorpe County to pay debts owed to the store’s owner, William Alvin Pitts — and to pay their respects.
The night before — Jan. 29, 1975 — Alvin’s life was cut short when robbers shot and killed him in his store. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his death.
The store, which is next to Blazers and across Highway 78 from Burger King, is now called AJ’s Food Store, but Alvin Pitts can be found in the memories of folks who knew him and on memorials in Lexington.
“Daddy was … wonderful,” daughter Brenda Coley said. “He never raised his voice at me, was always there for me, and worked hard to make sure we had what we needed.”
She was Alvin’s only child, but he was a paternal figure for many others in Oglethorpe County.
Willie B. Smith, a former employee and lifelong friend of the Pitts family, said he felt Alvin raised him alongside his own daughter.
“He had God in him everywhere he went,” Smith said. “I always loved him, I always cared for him all my life. He always treated me right.”
Patriotism runs deep
Alvin, born Aug. 21, 1921, grew up on his family’s 290-acre cotton farm down in Palmetto. He worked the land with his siblings, raising vegetables and operating the tractor.
“They all worked so hard, and were so poor,” said Dr. Robert B. (Rob) Pitts, Alvin’s nephew. “They didn’t have electricity.”
When the U.S. entered World War II, Alvin joined the Army Air Force and became a tailgunner on a B-17 bomber. One harrowing attack changed his life forever.
“The plane, he told me, was shot in half,” Brenda said.
Alvin was the sole survivor. He woke up a prisoner of war, enduring daily interrogations by his German captors.
“One of the guards liked him,” Brenda said. “He would sneak him a piece of bread.”
Back home in Georgia, Alvin’s family received a telegram: Missing in Action. Heartbroken by the news, younger brothers Bobby and Melvin promptly enlisted. Bobby was still underage when he left for boot camp.
“I think that event is what motivated my dad to join the Marines,” said Pitts, who was Bobby’s son. “(My grandparents) signed for him and basically lied about his age, that he was a year older than he was. That’s how patriotic they were.”
Years later in Palmetto, the family’s grief turned to joy when they spotted a familiar silhouette walking down their dirt road.
“Grandma, she saw him and said she started running and screaming, ‘Alvin, Alvin, Alvin, there’s Alvin,’” Coley said. “She didn’t know he was alive.”
“My dad was in the back of the property gathering the cows, and he heard his mother screaming,” said Pitts, his voice breaking. “He came up the hill and there was Alvin, with his long hair.”
Following Alvin’s return, the Pitts family moved to Sandy Cross and built a new life in “the big city.”
Alvin worked at the Gulf gas station in Lexington, which was located where West Main Auto Repair operates today. He married his wife, Doris, and they welcomed Brenda into the world in 1949.
As a young woman, Brenda helped her father run his store. She remembered the Minit Serve feeling like “a little bitty Bell’s.”
When she had children of her own, she took them to the store almost daily to visit their grandfather.
Dark day
Everything changed on Jan. 29, 1975. That morning, Brenda woke up with a bad feeling.
“I felt like there was a black cloud over my head,” she said.
Brenda called her father to check on him, and he assured her that he was fine.
Hours later, she called again. This time, no answer.
The WWII veteran was murdered in a robbery at his beloved Minit Serve. He was 53.
When she heard the news, Brenda raced to the store.
“The whole parking lot was full,” she said. “You couldn’t even get in. Everybody just couldn’t believe it.”
When a customer couldn’t afford their groceries, Alvin was known to start a tab for them. Minit Serve was not just a business to him.
“He doesn’t care who you are,” Smith said. “You got no money for groceries and he knows you need something, he’s going to let you have it.”
Two men were convicted of murder and armed robbery in relation to Alvin’s death. Keithen Barrow and Casterdale Jones, 18 and 21 at the time of murder, carried out their life sentences in state correctional facilities.
They were never released, despite multiple parole hearings. Both men died in prison.
Though Minit Serve eventually closed, the memory of Alvin’s kindness endures in Oglethorpe County. A plaque at Lexington City Hall serves as a permanent reminder of his generosity and impact.
To the patrons who lined up to pay their debts nearly five decades ago, Alvin was more than a local business owner. He was a patriot, a neighbor and a friend.
To his daughter, he was the world.
“He was a good, loving daddy,” she remembered. “A hard working daddy.”