Severino Pifferini
9/28/1931 – 6/30/2020

Severino Pifferini lost his battle with cancer on June 30, 2020.

Severino (Reno) was born in Cugnasco Switzerland to Maria and Peter Pifferini. He had two brothers, Luigi and Benito. After school, he was trained as a butcher before coming to the United States in 1952 at the age of 21. He came to Klamath to work as a milker on a ranch. He also worked at the Simpson Mill.

He was drafted into the Army in 1957 and spent two years in Germany on the rifle team. After the Army, he worked in Brawley, California with his to be father-in-law. Reno was married to Ellen in 1959 and moved to Smith River. He and Ellen had three sons, Ricky, Steven and Frank. They had one daughter, Kimberly. He had twelve grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. He became a milker for the Westbrook Dairy, until moving to Orick in 1963.

Reno became an American citizen on December 1, 1964. He went to work for Arcata Redwood Co. in the woods, then peeling logs at Mill B, then later at Mill A. After that he worked on the bypass north of Orick until it was completed. He then worked for Rich Barber Construction until he retired.

Reno was a little league coach when his sons were little. He loved watching the San Francisco Giants and the 49ers.

He loved fishing in Redwood Creek for steelhead, the Klamath for salmon and the ocean for salmon and bottom fish with his friend Harold Baker. He enjoyed smoking his and other peoples salmon, the smoked salmon well loved by his family and friends. He also enjoyed deer hunting and always got his deer, even a bear one year.

Reno was always busy outside working in the yard and garden, he called it “puttering around”. He had a garden until the elk took over and ate it.

At times, he did milking for the Orick dairy farmers when they needed someone for a milking or two.

He leaves his wife of 60 years Ellen, his children and grandchildren, his brother Luigi in Switzerland, his sister-in-law Bertha and his nieces and nephews.

He loved his family and will be deeply missed by all. He wished to have a little of his ashes sent to Switzerland to be put in the mountains where he worked with his grandfather tending to the cows and goats.

Reno did not want services or a memorial. Many thanks to the doctors and nurses at St. Joseph Hospital, Oncology and the chemo nurses. A special thanks to the wonderful nurses at Hospice.

Sincerely, Ellen Pifferini

###