Submitted by Jim Sittig,
Waverly, Penn.

WAVERLY, PENN. — On May 2, my brother, John Edgar Sittig passed away in his sleep; he was at his home in Beaufort, S.C.

He was born on our mother’s birthday, January 8, 1950, and was the eldest son of antiques dealers Charlotte and Edgar Sittig of Shawnee-on-Delaware, Penn. Born into the world of antiques, he learned his trade from our parents.

Upon graduating from East Stroudsburg High School, he enlisted into the United States Navy and received his honorable discharge after which he pursued his personal interests. He entered the Art Institute of Idaho in Ketchum, Idaho, where he devoted his studies to studio pottery and where he honed his artistic abilities. Active in the Monroe County Arts scene in Pennsylvania, he started a pottery studio and built the first wood fired pit Raku kiln in Monroe County, in which he presented his unique vision of pottery, from slab forms to traditional and unitarian forms.

His early passion for folk art and textiles led him back to the family business and he developed a discerning eye for samplers, show towels, coverlets, quilts and, above all, the primitive and unique.
John was an avid canoeist and kayaker. A swimmer through his youth, he later taught cross country skiing at Pocono Manor. Raised in a family of six children in a large historic home and property, he learned to play golf, tennis, downhill skiing and swimming, in which he had plenty of competition with his brothers and sisters. We once molded youth golf attire for Arnold Palmer and his clothing business at Shawnee Inn. When our father passed away, John helped our mother full time in the antiques business, doing shows up and down the East Coast. At the Ellsworth, Maine, show, John met his future wife, Robin Chase, and the rest is history. They purchased an early property with a very large barn, where they enjoyed a menagerie of animals from goats to chickens which they cared for and loved. John especially enjoyed being alongside the river, kayaking and swimming, like we did when we were children. When our mother passed away, John and Robin continued in the antiques business, actively exhibiting, and doing shows all over. The cold winters lost its appeal for John, so he and Robin moved to Beaufort, S.C., in 2010, where they found a comfortable and warm home. He never lost his interest in antiques.

John is survived by his loving wife, two elder sisters, Charlotte and Susie, and two younger brothers, Fred and Jim.