Sauro "Spike" Pighini

Sauro “Spike” Pighini of Lake Barrington, Illinois, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his adoring family, on Saturday, March 7, 2020.

Spike was born in Lucca, Italy on November 1, 1938.   During WWII, Spike and his mother sheltered those who were persecuted, including American soldiers and Jewish families.  With the assistance of one of these American soldiers, Spike, at the age of 12, and his mother were able to join the rest of the family in the United States.

Spike attended Lane Tech High School in Chicago, and received his Bachelor’s degree from DePaul University.  Spike was a true entrepreneur, who owned three successful businesses during his lifetime.  He had a knack for being one step ahead of the competition, knowing what people needed before they knew it.

Spike was passionate about wildlife, foraging for mushrooms, rebuilding rare sports cars, and repairing and creating things by hand.  You could always count on him for projects big and small, from teaching his children how to make a whistle out of twigs to installing a state of the art water softening system.  His family will always be grateful for the times they’ve spent together in his childhood home of Italy, instilling an appreciation for his heritage and culture.

Spike is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Mary (Foti) Pighini; his devoted children, Cynthia, Michael (Laurie), Richard (Alexa), and Steven (Holly).  He is also survived by his adoring grandchildren, Lorenzo, Isabella, Alexander, Sebastian, Olivia, Jakob, Mia and Abby and many other family members.

The visitation will be on Sunday, March 15th, from 3-8 PM at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 149 W. Main St. (Lake-Cook Rd.), Barrington, IL.  The visitation at the church will be from 10:00 AM until the time of Mass at 11:00 AM on Monday, March 16th, at Holy Family Parish, 2515 W. Palatine Rd., Inverness, IL.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at www.jdrf.org.