Bob Pianalto passed away at home on January 11, 2020. He was born and raised in Gilroy, California and earned a degree in Marketing from San Jose State University. During his time at SJSU, Bob joined the Air Force RTOC program where he developed a passion for flying. After graduating and enlisting in the Air Force, Bob’s first permanent assignment was at March Airforce Base. It was here that Bob would meet and marry Jacquie Thiele. Much of Bob’s initial time in the Airforce was spent as a navigator/bombardier in B-47, B-52 and RF-4C aircraft. This included 133 combat missions in Vietnam. The remainder of his career was spent in various logistic roles. As fate would have it, Bob’s last assignment was working with the SR-71 program which allowed him to return to Riverside, CA where he retired at the end of 1979.
Bob’s second career, that of a Real Estate Broker, began with James Miller Realty and then continued at Westcoe Realtors. Bob believed in giving back to the community and did so in many ways. He was active in both Riverside Unified and Riverside County School Districts, St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church, and the March Field Air Museum where he was instrumental in its development at the current location.
Bob is survived by Jacquie, his wife of 57 years, and by two children, daughter Michelle Lee and son-in-law Kevin, grandchildren Lauren and Olivia; son, Scott Pianalto and daughter-in-law Kerry, grandchildren Kirstin, Nicole, Isabella, and Aiden.
A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church on February 4th at 11:30 am. Interment will be held at Riverside National Cemetery at 1:30 pm.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the March Field Air Museum, or a charity of your choice.
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