Angler was decorated Army veteran

From one American coast to another, retired Army Lt. Col. David Peduto loved fishing.

The decorated veteran didn’t catch a lot, but that didn’t stop him from indulging his family in angling excursions every year on Long Beach Island, N.J. They tried the waters in Hawaii, too.

“He taught us all how to fish — and none of us did it very well,” said Lt. Col. Peduto’s wife, Michelle, who married him in 1985. “But we enjoyed the time together.”

Setting a good example for their four children was pivotal to Lt. Col. Peduto, of Sewickley, who died Monday after a sudden heart attack, Mrs. Peduto said. He was 62 and an older brother of Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.

A son of Guy and Eva Peduto, he grew up in Scott and graduated from Bishop Canevin High School in 1972. He enrolled next at Duquesne University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and went into the ROTC.

“I think, at that point in time, you just saw something where David found his place,” said his brother Guy A. Peduto, 63, of Fairmont, W.Va., “Leadership and responsibility were key factors in his life. I think it was at that early point in time where it all clicked, where it all came together.”

Lt. Col. Peduto went on to serve about 25 years in the Army, developing a career in medical logistics. His international service included Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf, where he earned a Bronze Star, Guy Peduto said. Lt. Col. Peduto had operational control of about 400 soldiers in Desert Storm, according to the family.

Well into his Army career, Mrs. Peduto said, her husband began exploring organizational psychology. After he retired from the service in 2003, he started his own company, Innovative Resources of Pittsburgh, to focus on organizational leadership.

“He had this booming, wonderful personality, but he was so humble,” Mrs. Peduto said, adding that “everybody relied on him.”

In addition to his brothers, his wife and his mother, Lt. Col. Peduto is survived by four children, Elizabeth, Emily, Joseph and Samuel. His father and a brother, Tom, preceded him in death.

Visitation is from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. today and 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the R.D. Copeland funeral home, 702 Beaver St., Sewickley.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at St. James Catholic Church, 200 Walnut St., Sewickley. Burial will follow at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, 1158 Morgan Road, Bridgeville.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Capuchin Friars, 220 37th St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15201.