Dr. Amadeo John Pesce

Born on June 30, 1938 in Everett, Massachusetts to a mechanic and his wife, AMADEO J. PESCE (also known as Amadio, Deo, Dale, and Dr. P) developed a passion at an early age for science and science fiction, known for always having his nose in a book. After graduating from the college-prep track at Malden High School in 1956, he attended MIT on a scholarship where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Biology in 1960, followed by a PhD in Biochemistry at Brandeis University in 1964, under biochemist Dr. Nathan O. Kaplan.

His distinguished career began with a post-doctoral fellowship in Biochemistry and Biophysics in the laboratories of the renowned scientist Dr. Gregorio Weber at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1964 to 1968. He was later awarded the esteemed 5-year Established Investigator Award by the American Heart Association to work under the auspices of pioneering nephrologist Dr. Victor Pollak at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. When Dr. Pollak moved his entire lab faculty to the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine in 1973, Amadeo followed, beginning an illustrious 33-year academic career as a faculty member in the Department Pathology, eventually becoming the director of the Toxicology Laboratory. He was beloved by students, staff and colleagues for his kindness, generosity, and genuine interest in their lives and professional endeavors.

Following his retirement from UC in 2006, Amadeo moved with his wife to San Diego, California to be closer to all three of his children who resided there. In time, he was also blessed with four grandchildren. Amadeo, however, was never a typical retired grandpa. Driven by an unyielding work ethic and love of academia, he volunteered as a non-salaried Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Then at the tender age of 69 he passed the board exams to become a certified laboratory director in California. With this additional credential he was hired as the lab director and very first employee at a new commercial venture that during his tenure became one of the largest drug testing laboratories in the United States, Millennium Laboratories. Yet he stayed true to his academic roots, using his position there to mentor many young lab technicians, a significant number of whom went on to become certified clinical laboratory scientists (and, as he joked, “able to afford a spouse”).

During his six-decade career, Amadeo was a prolific scholar who strongly encouraged his students and colleagues to publish, often placing their names before his own on publications. He co-authored more than 30 books, including editing two foundational laboratory medicine works with longtime colleague Lawrence A. Kaplan: Clinical Chemistry: Theory, Analysis, and Correlation, and Methods in Clinical Chemistry. He also contributed to hundreds of journal articles and book chapters that have been cited over 12,000 times. Amadeo’s research on renal proteins, immunochemistry, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry ultimately helped to improve patient care. Over the years his efforts were recognized by his peers through major honors, including the Alvin Dubin Award (1993) and the Irving Sunshine Award in Clinical Toxicology (2019), as well as honors from the Kidney Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

In his final years Amadeo lent his credentialed expertise to Birdrock Laboratories and was actively serving as the Associate Laboratory Director for Precision Diagnostics at the time of his passing at age 88, fully dedicated to his life's work until the very end.

While his professional achievements were vast, family and friends were at the center of Amadeo’s life. In 1964 he married Anna Manzi, whom he’d known since high school. They had three children, Sandra, Dominic, and Nicholas. The couple travelled the world for Amadeo’s professional conferences, even moving to France with the children for his six-month sabbatical in 1980-81. He was a devoted father and husband. When Anna suffered a massive, debilitating stroke in her mid-50s, Amadeo served as her primary caretaker for the next two decades until her passing in 2015, selflessly tending to her needs. He showed his appreciation for his family, friends, and colleagues by keeping in touch with them for many years through birthday cards and an annual holiday newsletter. He was fondly remembered for bringing large bags of treats to students and weekend lab crews, dozens of donuts to morning staff meetings, and enormous chocolate cakes to family gatherings.

Amadeo is survived by his daughter, Sandra; his sons Dominic (Shannon) and Nicholas (Cynthia); his grandchildren, Clarice, Sonia, Brigid and Liam; and his younger siblings Marie, John, Lorraine, and Paul. He is preceded in death by his wife, Anna (née Manzi); his younger brother, Donald; and his parents, Domenic and Francesca (née Giannone). He leaves a legacy of devotion to his loved ones and of inspiration to future generations of scientists. He will be dearly missed.

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Services & Memorial Information:

A visitation and viewing will be held on Thursday, September 24, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at El Camino Memorial - Sorrento Valley (5600 Carroll Canyon Rd, San Diego, CA 92121). Please plan your route to accommodate the possible road closure on eastbound Carroll Canyon Road starting at the Scranton Road intersection.

A Funeral Mass will follow on Friday, September 25, 2026, from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM at St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church (4124 Mt Abraham Ave, San Diego, CA 92111), with Burial to follow at El Camino Cemetery

Donations:

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the following charities:

· The American Heart Association

· The American Cancer Society

· The National Kidney Foundation (US)