Leno Pedrotti

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Dr. Leno S. Pedrotti
May 21, 1927 – August 19, 2008

Dr. Leno Stephano Pedrotti, 81, of Woodway, passed away Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at his residence surrounded by his family.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11 a.m. Saturday, August 23, at St. Jerome's Catholic Church with Father Rakshaganathan Selvaras as celebrant. Dr. Dan Hull will be the Eulogist. Interment will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, August 26, at Glen Haven Memorial Gardens in New Carlisle, Ohio.

The Vigil Service will be 6 p.m. Friday, August 22, at OakCrest Funeral Home, 4520 Bosque Blvd., with Deacon Greg George officiating. Visitation with the family will follow. The Knights of Columbus will provide an Honor Guard.

Leno was born May 21, 1927 in Zeigler, IL, to Celeste and Dolores (Galeaz) Pedrotti. He married Jean Sullivan on June 23, 1951 in East Peoria, IL, and their family included eight children.

Dr. Pedrotti received a BS in education from Illinois State University in 1949, a MS in Physics from the University of Illinois in 1951, and a PhD in Physics from the University of Cincinnati in 1961.

His professional career was spent as a nationally-recognized professor, author, and editor in the area of physics education. From 1951-1982, he was a professor and department chair at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. In 1982 he moved to Waco where he worked at the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD).

He was a Faculty Fellow for the Nat'l Science Foundation; a Fellow of the Optical Society of America; member of the American Nuclear Society; past chair of the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society; and a member of the Board of Directors for the Laser Institute of America; American Association of Physics Teachers; American Society of Engineering Education, and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

He was a member of St. Jerome's Catholic Church where he facilitated adult Bible classes, served on the hospitality and welcoming committees and as Eucharistic Minister at church and at a local nursing home. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus.

His family includes his wife, Jean; four sons, Daro Pedrotti and wife, Rhonda of Houston, TX, Michael Pedrotti and wife Victoria of Dayton, OH, Leno Pedrotti and wife, Marjorie of New Lebanon, OH, and John Pedrotti and wife, Sarah of Elm Mott, TX; four daughters, Sandra Pedrotti and Laura Ayala, both of Austin, TX, Catherine Doggett and husband, Stephen of New Carlisle, OH, and Mary Christopher and husband, Dale of Beavercreek, OH; two brothers, Rudy Pedrotti and wife, Marge of Newark, DE, and Father Francis Pedrotti, SJ, of St. Louis, MO; sister, Velia Pedrotti of San Mateo, CA; 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Caritas, The American Cancer Society, or a charity of your choice.