This home page is a brief blurb about Chuck Pivetti. There is
a longer biography here: Chuck Pivetti biography.
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Chuck
Pivetti, February 26, 1929 - August 3, 2021, husband, family
man, postman, pilot, civil engineer, boxer, friend, naval
officer, traffic engineering manager, scout leader, dog's
best friend, cyclist, adventurer, angler, backpacker, SF
Giants fan, and photographer. This web site is
dedicated to his legacy and photography is central to the
theme. The left-hand menu links to galleries of many
of his photographic works (except for the Chuck and Jane
galleries, which were mostly taken by friends wielding his
cameras). You'll get a feel for his personality by
listening to some of his stories (the bottom link in the
left-hand menu).
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Chuck Pivetti's a true Californio: he's the Hollister son of
native Californians; graduate of Stanford Leland Jr.
University (via SJSU) and a post-graduate of UC Riverside
(via remote education); husband of Jane Avery Wetzel
Pivetti, a Mills College grad; resident of several
California towns (Hollister, San Jose, Palo Alto, Shell
Beach, Greenfield, Solvang, Santa Maria, Stockton, San Bruno
and Carmichael); and an engineering manager for CalTrans who
knew every road and byway in California. Other than a
brief stint in the Navy, and a couple of weeks in
Chicago, Chuck lived his whole life in California,
reared his five children in California, visited most of the
parks in California, and vacationed with family mostly in
the California countryside (except for a stay at the
Disneyland Hotel). His children all received degrees
from California institutions. |
Californio |
Traveler (bike tours of Europe outlined) |
Chuck Pivetti traveled outside of the states now and then,
taking shore leave in Japan in 1950, and visiting France (5
times), Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, England, Ireland,
Portugal, Turkey, Tanzania and the Mekong with Jane, family
and/or friends. Many of the European tours were on
bicycle with panniers. Chuck also enjoyed husband and
wife, bicycle club and camera club outings through Oregon,
Washington, Alaska, the Colorado Plateau, Zion, Canyon de
Chelly, Key West, the Green River and other photogenic
sites. Chuck said that he preferred taking pictures of
people but he sure took a lot of photos of canyons (as you
will see in the Geologic gallery).
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| Chuck Pivetti wasn't just
a highway engineer, he was a bicycle safety expert and a
bicycle path advocate (from his years cycling to work in
Sacramento and cycling with friends on 100-mile-a-day rides
and travel tours). Chuck was also a lifetime
photographer, from his first camera and enlarger at 10 to
his award winning camera, darkroom and Photoshop work in
retirement. View the galleries to see that everything
isn't all black and white. |
   
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Newlyweds |
Chuck and Jane met at
Mills College in 1950 and were married in Chicago in
1951. The US Navy gave Chuck leave from the Korean
seas later in 1951 and was assigned studies at the Monterey
communications college, which allowed Jane and Chuck to
truly begin their married life together. Chuck was
almost always surrounded by family: 20 aunts and
uncles, 5 children, 8 grandchildren and 5
great-grandchildren. He spent many summer days fishing
or scouting with his boys, and many an evening out with Jane
and many an evening in with Jane and the gourmet club. Chuck
loved dogs almost as much as children, once adopting a blind
poodle, and often practicing retrieval with Labradors at the
American River. Chuck loved crossword and cryptic
puzzles, especially at the breakfast table with Jane.
Chuck and Jane celebrated their Platinum Anniversary in
2020.
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70-year-long love affair |
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