Fred A. Sirianni, 89, of Vero Beach, formerly of Eau Claire, Wis., passed away on Jan. 26, 2016.
He is survived by his 12 children: Steve (Kitty) of Seattle, Wash., Tony of West Palm Beach, Janet (Steve) of Eau Claire, Mary of Minneapolis, Patty of Minneapolis; Jim (Melissa) of Madison; John (Julie) of Eau Claire; Kate (Yutaka) of Boynton Beach, Carey (Al) of Minneapolis, David (Charlotte) of St. Paul, Fred, Jr., (Jane) of Everett, Wash., and Susan (Ken) of Minneapolis; 24 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his dear wife, his parents, six brothers and two sisters.
Son of Peter Sirianni, Sr., and Caroline (Zappa) Sirianni, he was born in Cumberland, Wis., in 1926. He graduated from Rice Lake High School before moving to Eau Claire in 1959. He was a US Navy veteran of WWII serving with the Air Patrol Bombing Squadron #148 in the Pacific Theater.
Upon his return from service, Sirianni joined the family business, a wholesale distributing company in Rice Lake, Wis. In 1956, he became a stockbroker with the investment firm of Jameson and Co. which later became Piper Jaffray. He remained with Piper Jaffray until his retirement in 1990 having been named one of the Top 20 Brokers in the US.
Sirianni became a partner in Piper Jaffray and then a Managing Director when the firm went public. He was a long time Board Member at Piper Jaffray and also at National Presto, Ind.
He held many additional posts including Trustee of the Presto Foundation, President of the Chippewa Valley Girl Scouts, Board Director of Luther Hospital, President of the University of WI-Eau Claire Foundation, Chair of the UW-Eau Claire Investment Committee, Advisory Board Member of Viterbo College, and board member of the Gifford Youth Activity Center.
He was a lifelong member of both the Elks and the Knights of Columbus, past member of Immaculate Conception Church in Eau Claire and current member of St. John of the Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach.
While Sirianni devoted his work life to his customers, nothing was more important to him than his family. He married his high school sweetheart, Jean Bergeron, in 1949. Together they raised 12 children; six sons and six daughters. He always joked that he thought “family planning” was having 6 of each. He was extremely grateful for these past few years of life where he felt he was given the gift of getting to know each of his kids more individually.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Immaculate Conception Church in Eau Claire, Wis., on Feb. 20, at 11 a.m. Vero Beach arrangements are being handled by Cox-Gifford Funeral Home. Visitation will be at the Fuller-Speckien-Hulke Funeral Home in Eau Claire, Wis., on Feb. 19 from 5 to 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be sent to the Vero Beach Habitat for Humanity, 4568 US Hwy 1, Vero Beach, FL 32967. An online guest book may be signed at www.coxgiffordseawinds.com.
