Pedrelli, Nino Dante A beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and mentor, Nino Dante Pedrelli died on January 14, 2023, at his home in St. Louis Park. He was 66. An insightful thinker, successful real estate developer, and aficionado of good food, classical music, and art, Nino's greatest love was his family. He treasured Sunday afternoons when he served up comfort in the form of food, wine, and jazz. Nino was born on April 18, 1956, in Boston, to Bruno Pedrelli, originally from Parma, Italy, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, and Thelia (Boraschi) Pedrelli, a native Bostonian whose family owned a restaurant once favored by Red Sox baseball players. After attending Arlington (Mass.) public schools, Nino received his bachelor's degrees in civil engineering and management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his master's in civil engineering from Stanford University, and his Ph.D. in real estate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With more than 40 years of experience and leadership in construction finance and commercial real estate investment, development, and research, Nino, at the time of his death, was the principal of State Street Realty Advisors. For a decade, he was on the board- and eventually president - of Hammer Residences, the nonprofit organization that provides quality services for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. He was also a trustee of the NAIOP Research Foundation, the nation's leading commercial real estate development association. Despite those credentials and accomplishments, Nino was, to all who knew him, a down-to-earth immigrant's son. During his days at Stanford, Nino met Susan Nelson, a University of Minnesota grad, Boston College M.B.A., and West St Paul native. Their first date was on July 4, 1979. Fireworks ensued, and they were married in 1984. They produced two wonderful daughters, Cara and Laura, and, more recently, cherished the arrival of two granddaughters: Luca, born four days before Nino's death, and Lina, two years old. Among Lina's first words was "Nonno," grandpa in Italian. Nino had a distinctive voice and unmistakable Boston accent, both of which were unfairly robbed of him (and us) because of the larynx cancer that took his life. His wry and affectionate sense of humor endured. Nino's daughter, Cara, summed up his most extraordinary strength. "He taught me how to love," she said. Nino is survived by his wife Susan; daughters Cara, of Richfield, and Laura (and her husband Steve Swanson), of Minneapolis; granddaughters Lina and Luca; sister Bruna (and her husband Bob Brashears), of Greenwood Village, Colo., and many sisters- and brothers-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews, and friends. Memorials may be made to Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park or the charity of your choice. Services and a celebration of Nino's life will be held later.

Published on January 22, 2023