Nicola Pignati

1949 - 2017

Nicola Pignati
June 29, 1949 - August 5, 2017
San Jose
It is with great sadness that the family of Nicola (Nic) Pignati, announce his passing following a long battle with a rare neuroendocrine cancer of the pancreas. Right down to the end, Nic fought this disease with courage and optimism.
Nic was born in San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy, on June 29, 1949, to Fernanda and Giuseppe Pignati. In 1963, he immigrated to the United States with his mother and siblings and joined their father to begin their new life in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Nic quickly learned English and integrated well into the school system, graduating from Lincoln High School and going on to San Jose State University earning a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
It was in the Italian neighborhood of North Beach where he met the love of his life Pola Cinquini. They were high school sweethearts and were married in Sts Peter and Paul Church in 1970; eventually starting their family, having two daughters, Lisa and Lori. Nic began his working career in the Nuclear Energy Department at General Electric Co., in San Jose. As the computer industry was beginning to blossom, he joined IBM Corp., working in the disk drive industry. Nic gained valuable experience in this work environment and soon his career expanded joining Dastek, Seagate Technology, Conner Peripherals, and Applied Magnetics. Nic's career allowed him to travel and work in many countries in Asia and Europe. His self motivating spirit combined with his experiences allowed him to create his own start up company MaxMedia, later known as MMC Technology, (Hyundai Corp.) providing state-of-the-art disk manufacturing creating a speed to market competition with much larger companies. Nic expanded his career further in the fiber optic technology becoming CEO of New Focus.
In his retirement years, Nic became an avid cyclist, enjoyed recreational photography, and spent good times with his family. Having always been gifted with woodworking, he loved to do many home improvement projects for himself and others. He could always be found with a measuring tape and pencil in his pocket.
He loved traveling to London to visit his daughter and grandchildren and to Italy, visiting friends and family. Besides traveling far, he always cherished spending time in Lake Tahoe with his brothers and sister and, of course, his nearly daily visits with the twins brought him great joy and happiness.
Nic is survived by his wife of 47 years, Pola, his daughter Lisa (Paul) Cahalan, Lori (Yun) Shaw, cherished grandchildren Daniela and Ryan Cahalan and Zachary and Stella Shaw; his sister Vivian Santilli, (Walter, deceased) his brother Ugo (Maria) Pignati, his brother Anthony (Anna) Pignati. Nic also leaves numerous nieces, nephews and cousins in Italy, and the Bay Area. He was deeply loved and will be missed by everyone.
Family and Friends are invited to attend a Visitation on Thursday, August 10, from 5-9p.m. with a Rosary at 7:00 p.m. at Crippen & Flynn Woodside Chapel, 400 Woodside Road, Redwood City. The Funeral Mass will take place at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, 666 Filbert Street, San Francisco at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at the Italian Cemetery, 540 "F" Street, Colma. In Lieu of flowers, donations are preferred to NorCal CarciNET Community, or the charity of your choice.


View the online memorial for Nicola Pignati