Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

May 25, 2023

Norman Douglas Bittner passed away at The Cypress in Charlotte, NC, on May 25, 2023, after a brief illness.

Dr. Bittner was born on July 8, 1930, in Glen Ridge, N.J. to Marion Reilly Bittner and Norman Meuser Bittner. He had a younger brother, Richard Bittner, previously deceased. He attended Glen Ridge High School and graduated from Upsala College and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his D.D.S. He practiced as a dentist and certified prosthodontist (New York University, 1969) in Montclair and Pea Pack, NJ. He was one of the first five prosthodontists to be elected to the Association of Prosthodontists in NJ and was an Associate Professor teaching part-time at the NJ College of Dentistry and Medicine and at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He served for two years as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy.

He was also a Consultant for the Warner Lambert Corporation, Prudential Insurance DMO, and Johnson & Johnson and an Expert Witness in court on dental litigation and malpractice.

In addition, Dr. Bittner was a Certified Financial Planner in his own company and managed several clients’ accounts up until his recent illness.

He was most proud of his 13 U.S. patented inventions of a robotic putting system.   One of his inventions won First Prize for New Inventions at the USGA Annual Golf Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL, in 2016.

Dr. Bittner was also an avid horseback rider and bred and raised thoroughbred horses, especially Hanoverians, at his farm in NJ.   He himself won many national awards in Three-Day Eventing (trials which test the overall abilities of horse and rider in competition at dressage, cross-country and endurance riding, and stadium show jumping), and in other horse shows. He was a Treasurer of the American Hanoverian Society.

He served as a trustee of Upsala College and as Chairman of Finance and Portfolio Management of the Board at Felician College in Lodi, NJ (now Felician University).

Dr. Bittner is survived by his wife, Audrey McBratney Bittner; his three children, Elizabeth Joung (Chansoo), Douglas Bittner (Janice), and Dr. Christine Bittner; three step-children; Bonnie Wallin (Bogue); Sally D’Alessandro (Don), and Bruce McBratney (Julie); five grandchildren, Nick Joung (Jill), Greta Joung, Malcolm Joung, Benjamin Bittner, Logan Bittner, Piper Nay, and Cash Bittner-Kabush; nine step-grandchildren; and five step great-grandchildren. He was divorced from his first wife, Dorothy Anne Platte Bittner, who is deceased.

A Celebration of Dr. Bittner’s life will be held on Sunday, July 30, at 3:30 p.m. at The Cypress. Memorials may be sent to the Gaston Community Foundation, (Designate for Cypress), P.O. Box 123, Gastonia, NC 28053.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC; 28204 (704) 641-7606. Online condolences can be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.