Wayne lived his life at Mach-10, making it a habit of saying yes to crazy ideas, whether it was buying a business on the other side of the country, riding his bicycle across America or climbing to the top of a sailboat mast in the middle of a race. He could out-sail, out-ski and out-cycle most athletes 40 years his junior. He was extremely competitive, whether he was sailing in a national race or playing Tripoli with his family.
Wayne was a rare soul on this earth who had the ability to connect with anyone. He craved real conversations and wasn't afraid to go deep quickly, asking a probing question or forcing you to think differently. He was effortlessly cool but showed vulnerability and held people accountable, including himself. Dozens of people, including his three children, consider Wayne their best friend. He was the go-to advice man in the family, and had a way of providing clarity that helped you identify what was most important. Wayne made people want to be their best selves.
Wayne Allan Pignolet was born in Cleveland on September 20, 1959, the fifth of six children to Wesley and Elaine Pignolet of Willoughby, both deceased. Three years later his younger sister Nancy was born on his birthday, and Elaine dubbed them Polish twins.
In 1964, Wesley bought a Highlander sailboat as a family activity, and it sparked a lifelong love affair for many of the siblings, but especially Wayne. He grew up sailing the Highlander and Thistles at Mentor Harbor Yacht Club, and later sailed with the family on their Tartan Ten and won national championships.
He finished second in the Thistle Nationals in 1985, sailing with his brother Jerry, and again in 2023 with his daughter Elaina and Jerry. With Jerry and Elaina as crew, he also won the 2024 Thistle Midwinters West Championship, his last regatta. Wayne and Jerry also found racing success with Wayne's daughter Carli as forward crew. Wayne loved to win, but was more proud of sailing with his family.
He was a graduate of University School outside of Cleveland and Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was captain of the sailing team. He also earned his MBA from Case Western Reserve University. He was an avid Ohio State University fan and named his beloved golden retriever Buckeye.
Wayne had a passion for helping industries create safe workplaces, which came from getting hurt at work himself. He was a strong believer in the power of leadership, and had an ongoing desire to find the missing link in what will keep people safe.
He had a unique combination of experiences and expertise as a senior safety leadership consultant with Balmert Consulting and as an inclusion leadership facilitator with FDP Global. Wayne spent hundreds of hours with leaders discussing safety, inclusion, and leadership. He also had 40 years of industry experience including frontline operations responsibility of a construction products company and establishing a manufacturing operation in China for Moen.
As a facilitator, Wayne worked with OPPD, Pacific Power, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AbbVie, Lockheed Martin, Georgia Pacific, Heidelberg Materials, Amazon, Lundin Mining, Hecla Mining, and others.
He was previously the owner of Surfaces and Stone granite company in Post Falls, Idaho.
He was married to Jody (Johnson) Pignolet for 38 years, whom he loved dearly and hated being away from whenever he traveled for work. Their relationship was the envy of many, for it was a true partnership. Many of their kids' friends considered Wayne and Jody their second set of parents.
Wayne lived in Cleveland for most of his life, but also spent years in Annapolis, Maryland; Sandpoint, Idaho; and Portland. He also lived for six months in Germany. In Sandpoint, he built a cyclocross course and hosted races, and was part of the Sandpoint Men's Group, which was the subject of a documentary.
In 2012, Wayne was part of a four-man team that competed in the Race Across America, cycling from California to Maryland in 6 days, 9 hours and 28 minutes, all while raising money for Autism research. Much of his extended family traveled to Annapolis to watch the team cross the finish line. Wayne and team thanked them by finishing the race at 3 a.m.
Wayne sat for hours at his brother Dale's bedside in intensive care while he successfully battled leukemia. Each of his siblings felt like they had THE special relationship with him, because he made meaningful time with each of them a priority. He was the family mediator and the family margarita maker, always with fresh limes. He instigated more than one whipped cream fight.
He became a grandfather in 2022, and was over-the-moon smitten with Frances. His family spent Franny's second Christmas in Latvia with the Pignolet siblings' bonus brother, Heiner, and his family.
Wayne is survived by his wife, Jody, children Carli, Elaina and Glenn, granddaughter Frances, siblings Scott (Peggy), Susanne (Robert), Dale (Miriam), Jerry (Alison) and Nancy (Greg), bonus brother Heiner (Elke), a dozen nieces and nephews and two great-nieces, including one born the day before he died. He called brother Dale the day she was born to tell him how great it was to be a grandpa.
We are devastated and acutely aware of how lucky we were to have him. We're not excited about a future without him but we're thankful that we were able to have so many wonderful experiences with him and because of him.
Services will be held at Edgewater Yacht Club, 6700 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday April 26 from 1:30-5 p.m. Thistle purple and green attire encouraged. Black is optional. Silly hats optional. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Community Cycling Center in Portland. The family has also set up a GoFundMe to help with expenses.
Contributions in Wayne's name to the following would also be appreciated by his family.
https://www.autcom.org/public/
https://communitycyclingcenter.org/get-involved/donate/
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