In Memoriam: Guido Pinamonti, Sr., 1921-2017 uido Pinamonti, Sr., who served Portland State as a professor of social work for more than 15 years, died November 7 in Portland. He was 96 years old. Professor Pinamonti was born April 5, 1921, in Pyrolite, Colorado. He was the first of five children born to Carlo and Carlotta Pinamonti, who emigrated to the United States from northern Italy. As a young man during World War II, he worked for Douglas Aircraft in Inglewood, California. In an article published in November 2016 in the Sherwood Gazette, Professor Pinamonti recalled his wartime service in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He quit his job at Douglas in 1944 to enlist, and he soon found himself at Arizona State University learning to fly a B-17 Flying Fortress. “I had never flown an airplane,” Professor Pinamonti said. “I had never been in an airplane.” Soon he was a newly minted lieutenant and a B-17 co-pilot, assigned to the Eighth Air Force’s 447th Bomb Group, based in Rattlesden, England. With only three missions left on his tour, Professor Pinamonti and his crew set out for Oranienburg, Germany, on March 15, 1945. The target was chosen because military intelligence believed— mistakenly—that Hitler was hiding in Oranienburg, a suburb about 20 miles north of Berlin. Professor Pinamonti’s plane was hit by flak, and two engines caught fire. Rather than bail out, he and the pilot decided to crash-land the plane. “We picked out a little field that had trees at the end,” he said, adding that he thought it “fabulous that all 10 of us got out alive.” The crew split into pairs, fanning out across an area of farmland, trees, and hills. Most were caught in a day or two, but Professor Pinamonti and his companion hid in forests during the day and traveled at night. They evaded capture for eight days, finally running out of luck when they were spotted crossing a meadow. In prison camp, a German officer interrogated Professor Pinamonti. Frustrated with his refusal to answer, the German put a gun on the table and threatened to shoot him. Professor Pinamonti called the German’s bluff, and the officer dismissed him. British soldiers freed the Americans a few weeks later. After the war ended, Professor Pinamonti entered college, earning a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University in 1949, the same year he married Louise Pilon, with whom he had two sons, John and Guido, Jr. He went on to earn a master’s in social work from St. Louis University in 1951 and, after a stint running the Catholic Youth Organization in Los Angeles, a doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California in 1961. Before joining Portland State in 1970, Professor Pinamonti taught at USC and at the Worden School of Social Service, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas. At PSU he taught group work, human behavior, and direct practice. He also served as acting dean while Dean Gordon Hearn was ill. Upon his retirement in 1986, Professor Pinamonti was awarded emeritus status. Professor Pinamonti is survived by his sons, John (Susan), of New York City, and Guido, Jr. (Katherine), of Tualatin, and a sister, Theresa Zeigler. Louise Pinamonti died in 2012. A Funeral Mass was celebrated on November 15 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Portland. A graveside service with military honors was held the following day at Willamette National Cemetery, Portland. --Doug Swanson 4 G
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz