Francesco "Frank" Alfred Pignata

Francesco “Frank” Alfred Pignata was born on November 28, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York to Giuseppe “Joseph” and Anna “Jennie” (Lanieri) Pignata who both emigrated from Sicily, Italy.  He passed away on October 26, 2024 in Carmichael, California at the age of 97.  

     In 1941 Frank joined the Merchant Marines, and was recently awarded  a Congressional Gold Medal for his service during World War II.  Other medals for his service during that time include: the Atlantic War Zone Medal, the Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone Medal, the Pacific War Zone Medal, a Combat Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Medal.  

     Following his discharge from the Merchant Marines, he joined the Air Force Reserve, from where he was called into action for the Korean War.  During those active service years he was awarded: an Achievement Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, the Longevity Service Award, the Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), and the National Defense Service Medal.   

     Toward the end of his military service,  he was assigned to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in Sacramento, California where he received a Certificate of Commendation and a Meritorious Service Medal for his work with flood control. After forty-five years of military service, he retired  in 1986 with the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. 

     Frank had trained at Roosevelt Field in Mineola, New York, and became a federally certified aircraft mechanic.  After working at Chance-Vought Aircraft in Stafford, Connecticut, he pursued his dream of living in California by buying a one-way ticket to Los Angeles to accept a job offer from Lockheed in Burbank.  

     While in California he married Glennah (Casey) Carter, and became an instant father to Maureen, age seven, and Patricia “Tisa,” age twelve.  Shortly after they married, Frank’s Air Force Reserve Unit was activated, and he was assigned to Germany where he served as the control inspector in a plant that repaired aircraft parts.  Frank and Glennah spent the next four years in Germany, where they adopted a son, Wolfgang Hardke, whom they renamed  Stephen Philip Pignata. In 1955, they were sent stateside to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, from where Glennah went back to college at Sacramento State University to pursue a teaching credential in music. 

     Watching Glennah become a teacher rekindled Frank’s desire to do the same.  From the age of thirteen, he had dreamed of becoming a teacher who was as nice to his students as his favorite teacher, Miss Babcock, was to him.   In 1962, at the age of thirty-six, he retired from active military service  to finish college at Sacramento State University with the intention of earning a credential to teach mathematics.     

     By 1964 Frank joined the staff at Sacramento Country Day School and stayed for the next twenty-two years where he did almost every job there was to do.  He was originally hired as a mathematics teacher, but also taught some science classes, and later introduced computers into the curriculum.  In addition to his teaching duties, he held many titles at one time or another including: Business Manager, Head of Maintenance and Busing, Baseball Coach, Mathematics Department Chair, Director of  Summer School, and Assistant Headmaster.  At various times he also served as  the yearbook advisor, the ski club sponsor,  and a cub scout leader.  After retirement he continued to tutor students with the same love and commitment that he gave to his students in the regular classroom.      

     Although he preferred to work in the “background,” many awards, dedication and honors were bestowed upon him.  He received five yearbook dedications, membership in the Cum Laude Society, the Francie Tidey Award for Excellence in Education,  an Excellence in Teaching Plaque from the Parent’s Association, and multiple letters of appreciation from both parents and students.  In 1978,  a “Frank Pignata Appreciation Day” was organized with letters, poems and skits to honor him.

     After his wife, Glennah, died, Frank married Patricia (Griggs) Spencer Scrimgeour.  The marriage ended in divorce, but sons Bradley, age twelve, and Tommy, age nine, were added as family members.  

     Two more sons, Erik, age eight, and Michael, age eleven, joined Franks’ family when he married their mother, Brenda Sue (Youngblood) Smith.  Thus, chosen and blended by love rather than biology, Frank was blessed with three families in his lifetime, and all seven of his children loved him dearly.   

     Frank was a life-long Dodger fan, and encouraged his family members to be the same.  Most of us wear our fan-gear and have accompanied him to Dodger Stadium at one time or another.  It was his pleasure to coach sons, Stephen and Tommy in Little League, and watch grandsons, Nathan and Bradley when they played. 

     Golfing was another activity he liked from a young age, when he earned  $0.25 a round as a caddy. Fishing became an interest when he was stationed at Travis Air Force Base, and his colleagues talked about fishing in the sloughs, or the Sacramento River, or Lake Berryessa.  Son, William Thomas Scrimgeour, and grandson, Bradley Stephan Smith were his most frequent fishing buddies.  (The “Stephen” in Bradleys’ name is in honor of Franks’ son, Stephen Philip Pignata, who was killed in the Vietnam War.)  

     Frank is survived by his beloved wife of forty-five years, Brenda Sue  (Youngblood) Smith Pignata.  He is also survived by two sons: Erik (Smith) Pignata and Michael Smith; one daughter, Patricia Louise (Carter) Westervoorde; four daughters-in law, Mary (Morneau) Pignata, Anita Scrimgeour, Carmen (Peiffer) Floyd Smith, and Kelly Beverage; four grandchildren, Jennifer (Carter) Morrison, Nathan Alan Floyd, Bradley Stephen Smith, and Rayna Jane (Smith) Forbyn; one grandson-in-law, Hunter Forbyn; two great grandchildren, Carson Bentley Babbes and Franklin Ray Forbyn (his namesake); six nieces, Jo Anne (Melfi) Baldwin, Linda (Pignatti) Haverlock, Christina (Pignati) Mills, Darre (Pignati) Mattie, Gail (Pignati) Dunchamp, and Joanne ( Puluse) Hebenstreit Ford; and four nephews  Robert “Bob” Pignatti, Paul Pignatti, Joseph Pignatti, and James “Jim” Pignatti.  

     Frank was preceded in death by his parents, Guiseppe “Joseph” and Anna “Jennie” (Lanieri) Pignata: his four siblings, Rosaria “Sadie” (Pignata) Melfi, Gabriel Albert Joseph Pignatti, Christopher Pignati and Marie Concetta (Pignata) Pulese; two wives, Glennah (Casey) Carter Pignata and Patricia (Griggs) Spencer Scrimgeour Pignata; three sons, Stephen Philip Pignata, William Bradley Scrimgeour, William Thomas Scrimgeour; one daughter, Maureen Shelia (Carter) Bennet; three nieces, Barbara Pignatti (infant), Lisa (Pulese) Gallagher, Barbara (Pignati) Goulding Cassiani; and one nephew, Philip Melfi.

     A celebration of life will be held when immediate family members are able to regather in July. Exact date and location may be obtained by contacting one of us in spring or early summer. With full military honors, Frank will be interred at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, California.