Joseph A. Pinnola

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Joseph A. Pinnola, 83, a devoted family man who was the vice president and chief information officer for the former Brooklyn Union Gas Company, died Sunday at his Dongan Hills home.

Born in Brooklyn, he moved to Great Kills in 1966 and settled in Dongan Hills in 1974.

In 1944, at the age of 14, Mr. Pinnola began working at a drugstore to support his family after the death of his father. He started his career with Brooklyn Union Gas Company about three years later, working as a messenger.

Mr. Pinnola served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954, during the Korean War; he attained the rank of staff sergeant.

On guard duty one night, he sounded an alarm that alerted his company to a fire that had broken out in the compound where thousands of his comrades lay sleeping.

He was also assigned to the Army Security Agency, working in cryptography and counter intelligence. On at least one occasion, he helped to crack an enemy code, family said.

On his return to civilian life, Mr. Pinnola continued working for Brooklyn Union while he took night classes at St. John's University. He earned his B.A. in accounting from St. John's in 1954, and was promoted to programmer at Brooklyn Union. He would go on to play a large role in the development and implementation of the company's computer systems throughout the next three decades.

In 1982, as he continued moving ahead with his career, Mr. Pinnola graduated from the executive program in business administration at Columbia University. He was named senior vice president and chief information officer at Brooklyn Union in 1991, and retired three years later.

Affiliated with several organizations, Mr. Pinnola served on the board of trustees of Brooklyn Hospital. He was also a member of Community Board 2 and involved with the Jacques Marchais Center for Tibetan Art in Richmond.

In his leisure time, he enjoyed jogging, cooking, drawing and playing the piano.

Above all, he cherished spending time with his family. He particularly loved taking vacations with his children and grandchildren to Long Beach Island.

"He was happiest around his family and grandchildren," said his son Joseph.

Mr. Pinnola's grandson Christopher S. Pinnola died in 2007.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, the former Anita Adinolfi; his sons, Joseph, Steven, Richard and Kenneth; his daughters, Mary Pinnola-Waring and Joyce Pinnola; a sister, Nina Perry, and 10 grandchildren.

The funeral will be Friday from the Virginia Funeral Chapel, with a mass at 10 a.m. in St. Ann's R.C. Church, both Dongan Hills. Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.