Amedeo R Pino

Lieutenant Colonel Amedeo R. Pino, United States Army (retired) and former business owner of Sun Haven Realty, age 91, peacefully passed on March 12, 2021 surrounded by his wife and children.

The son of Italian immigrants, his family settled in Bingham, Utah, where he grew up with five brothers and one sister. Pino attended Utah State on both a baseball and ROTC scholarship.  Upon graduation, he was commissioned into the United States Army. 

His 23 years of distinguished service to country included multiple assignments of duty:  two tours in Germany, one in Bogota, Colombia, and a combat tour in Vietnam in 1970.   He concluded his military career in 1973 with the Army Counter Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

Due to his love of language and his great proficiency in Spanish, Pino briefly taught at Cochise College and then transitioned to his second career of 19 years as the owner of Sun Haven Realty.  His prolific writing ability created some of the best ads for showcasing homes on the market. 

His love for the University of Arizona first began after he completed his Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies in Tucson and was further strengthened once he moved to Sierra Vista in 1971. His family jokingly said he required all his children to attend the U of A, for which they willingly complied.  He rarely missed an Arizona sporting event and was a strong supporter of the University of Arizona Foundation. 

He continued his athletics well into his 70’s, playing racquetball and competing in the Senior Olympics where he won several medals.  He loved to write humorous poems for family birthdays and was a clever punster.  His keen intelligence, philanthropy, and infectious interest in young people he mentored created a cache of lifetime admirers. The family marveled that he knew no strangers.

In addition to his wife of 68 years, Theresa, he is survived by his eldest son, Richard (Mary) of Sierra Vista, his daughters Cindy and Michele of Scottsdale and two grandchildren Chelsea of Scottsdale and Richard Thomas Jr (Sarah) of Sierra Vista.  He leaves behind two great grandchildren, Amedeo Jeffery (AJ) and Luca James, along with a large loving Pino clan of nieces and nephews in Salt Lake City and his brother Rudy (Donna) Pino in California.   

He is preceded in death by his beloved son, Jeffrey, his three brothers Ross, Larry, Billy, his sister Eva and mother and father Salvatore Pino and Teresa Becolrori. 

Pino, a faithful Roman Catholic, supported his local St. Andrews parish and the Tucson Diocese.  A private family gathering will be held for the interment at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial.  A mass and celebration of life will be held later in the year.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to the St. Andrews building fund.

We will be holding a memorial mass for him on August 14, 2021 at St. Andrews the Apostle Catholic Church 800 Taylor Drive, Sierra Vista, AZ, at 11:00a.m. and a Celebration of life at The Windemere Hotel, 2047 S. Highway 92, Sierra Vista, AZ at 1:00p.m.-3:00p.m.

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