Bill Pinella, a guiding force behind The Press Democrat’s sports section (Santa Rosa, California) for nearly two decades and a beloved editor over his 45-year career in newsrooms, where close friends called him “Sweet,” died Nov. 15.
He was 76 and had lived for years with Parkinson’s disease.
At The Press Democrat, as assistant sports editor from 1994 until his retirement in 2012, Pinella was chief among the PD’s many unsung heroes. He was the brace behind writers — and at times the brains — but was content to remain in the background.
