Nettie’s is open
Tuesdays through Saturdays!
Join us for breakfast, lunch or unique shopping
Meet Nettie.
Nettie Golden White Pitney (1900-1985)
Who is Nettie? Glad you asked.
Nettie is a big reason why Rockford Rescue Mission exists, because she was the mother of Mission pioneer Gerald Pitney. She married Leonard Pitney and settled on a farm in Higbee, Missouri, where she found great fulfillment as a wife, mother and homemaker. Nettie especially enjoyed cooking and baking, with apricot cobbler being her specialty dessert.
Nettie served as a Sunday School teacher and church pianist and influenced her children to love music — but more importantly, to love God. She had a heart for missions and ministry; the couple even donated a portion of their land to the Mt. Zion Baptist Association for a campground, where she could often be found cooking for the campers.
Nettie had a quiet, humble spirit and would surely question why anyone in Rockford, Illinois, would make a fuss about her. But she would love that her legacy includes creatively extending the hope of Christ to people who are hurting and in need of His love.