Nicholas Venuto
Nicholas Venuto
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Age: 40
Location:
bike path off state Route 56 in Rancho Peñasquitos
San Diego , CA
United States
Nick was commuting home when he was killed by the driver of an out of control SUV who drove onto the bike path after changing lanes at high speed according to Sign on San Diego. Another cyclist was also hit, but survived.
From a website set up in memory of Nick:
Nicholas (Nick)
John Venuto of Poway, California, avid cyclist and loving father and
husband, was killed in a tragic accident on May 31st, 2011, while commuting home from work on his bicycle. He was 40 years old.
Nick was born in Pomona,
California on June 10, 1970, to Nicholas Michael Venuto and Judith
Bernadette Venuto. He grew up in Atascadero, California, where he
attended Santa Rosa Elementary, Atascadero Junior High, and Atascadero
High School. In elementary and junior high, Nick played clarinet and
tuba, and as a member of 4H, raised prize-winning sheep that were shown
in the San Luis Obispo county fair. In high school, Nick was a gifted
athlete across a wide variety of sports-he ran cross country, played
soccer, competed on the swim team, and won the "Little Big Man" award
for the heaviest bench press in his weight category.
Nick attended college at
the University of San Diego, where he received his Bachelor of
Accountancy in 1992. In 1995 he earned his CPA. After college, Nick
worked for seven years at the San Diego office of accounting firm Ernst
& Young. Nick spent the next 11 years developing an expertise in
the financial side of high-tech companies. At Graviton, a company in
the wireless industry, he began as Corporate Controller, became Vice
President of Finance and acting CFO, and then President. At the biotech
firm Nanogen, after four years of a position as Corporate Controller,
he again was promoted to CFO. He then moved to a position as Interim
Vice President of Finance at Ambit Biosciences. Most recently, in
February 2011 he joined the bioenergy firm Sapphire Technology as
Corporate Controller.
Nick married Deborah
Geidner in 1995 at the Founders Chapel on the campus of the University
of San Diego. They had a mutual love of sailing and the ocean, and
frequently sailed to Catalina together. Nick and Deborah both earned
SCUBA certification and loved diving in exotic coral reefs, as well as
locally. Their wedding reception, fittingly, was aboard a boat at
sunset. Their two children, Nicholas, born in 1998, and Marisa, born in
2002, were a joy to him, and he was never happier than when he was
spending time with them, riding bikes, encouraging and helping them with
schoolwork, or just being together.
A masterful and experienced
cyclist, Nick earned a place in the prestigious California Triple
Crown, an organization for elite long-distance cyclists in California.
Membership is awarded to those cyclists who complete at least three
"double centuries" (200 mile rides) in one calendar year. He joined the
San Diego Descenders Cycling Club this year, and rode with them in the
ShadowTour Stagecoach Century in January. He won the 40 plus division
and placed 5th overall in the Palomar
Challenge Hill Climb in 2010. On a recent trip to Hawaii, he cycled up
and down Haleakala, the 10,000-foot volcano that makes up the eastern
half of Maui, and on a trip to Europe rode several mountain stages of
the Tour de France, including the arduous Alpe d'Huez.
In addition, he loved
cycling with his family. He and his son Nicholas, then in fifth grade,
rode together in the Ride Across California, a 280-mile bike ride from
Yuma, Arizona, where they dipped their back tires in the Colorado River,
to Carlsbad, California, where they dipped their front tires into the
Pacific Ocean. Deborah and Marisa rode along in a motorhome, to camp
with them along the way and to cheer them on. Nick shared his love of
cycling with his father, with whom he rode his very first century ride,
the Tour of Palm Springs.
Nick loved spending time
with his family, and he enjoyed adventures and travel, so he found many
ways to combine the two. On a recent vacation, he and his family rode
the rapids of the Grand Canyon on a raft, and learned to ride ATCs and
horses. They found delight in the outdoors, whether kayaking or
cliff-jumping, and spent many weekends camping or skiing.
Nick is survived by his
wife, Deborah, his children Nicholas and Marisa, his parents, Nick and
Judi Venuto of Austin, his sister Rochelle Venuto and brother-in-law
Rafael Sabelli of Oakland and their daughters Olivia and Alessandra, his
sister Debra Little of Chicago, and his brother Tony Venuto and
sister-in-law Julie Venuto of Oakland.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Age: 40
Location:
bike path off state Route 56 in Rancho Peñasquitos
San Diego , CA
United States
Nick was commuting home when he was killed by the driver of an out of control SUV who drove onto the bike path after changing lanes at high speed according to Sign on San Diego. Another cyclist was also hit, but survived.
From a website set up in memory of Nick:
Nicholas (Nick)
John Venuto of Poway, California, avid cyclist and loving father and
husband, was killed in a tragic accident on May 31st, 2011, while commuting home from work on his bicycle. He was 40 years old.
Nick was born in Pomona,
California on June 10, 1970, to Nicholas Michael Venuto and Judith
Bernadette Venuto. He grew up in Atascadero, California, where he
attended Santa Rosa Elementary, Atascadero Junior High, and Atascadero
High School. In elementary and junior high, Nick played clarinet and
tuba, and as a member of 4H, raised prize-winning sheep that were shown
in the San Luis Obispo county fair. In high school, Nick was a gifted
athlete across a wide variety of sports-he ran cross country, played
soccer, competed on the swim team, and won the "Little Big Man" award
for the heaviest bench press in his weight category.
Nick attended college at
the University of San Diego, where he received his Bachelor of
Accountancy in 1992. In 1995 he earned his CPA. After college, Nick
worked for seven years at the San Diego office of accounting firm Ernst
& Young. Nick spent the next 11 years developing an expertise in
the financial side of high-tech companies. At Graviton, a company in
the wireless industry, he began as Corporate Controller, became Vice
President of Finance and acting CFO, and then President. At the biotech
firm Nanogen, after four years of a position as Corporate Controller,
he again was promoted to CFO. He then moved to a position as Interim
Vice President of Finance at Ambit Biosciences. Most recently, in
February 2011 he joined the bioenergy firm Sapphire Technology as
Corporate Controller.
Nick married Deborah
Geidner in 1995 at the Founders Chapel on the campus of the University
of San Diego. They had a mutual love of sailing and the ocean, and
frequently sailed to Catalina together. Nick and Deborah both earned
SCUBA certification and loved diving in exotic coral reefs, as well as
locally. Their wedding reception, fittingly, was aboard a boat at
sunset. Their two children, Nicholas, born in 1998, and Marisa, born in
2002, were a joy to him, and he was never happier than when he was
spending time with them, riding bikes, encouraging and helping them with
schoolwork, or just being together.
A masterful and experienced
cyclist, Nick earned a place in the prestigious California Triple
Crown, an organization for elite long-distance cyclists in California.
Membership is awarded to those cyclists who complete at least three
"double centuries" (200 mile rides) in one calendar year. He joined the
San Diego Descenders Cycling Club this year, and rode with them in the
ShadowTour Stagecoach Century in January. He won the 40 plus division
and placed 5th overall in the Palomar
Challenge Hill Climb in 2010. On a recent trip to Hawaii, he cycled up
and down Haleakala, the 10,000-foot volcano that makes up the eastern
half of Maui, and on a trip to Europe rode several mountain stages of
the Tour de France, including the arduous Alpe d'Huez.
In addition, he loved
cycling with his family. He and his son Nicholas, then in fifth grade,
rode together in the Ride Across California, a 280-mile bike ride from
Yuma, Arizona, where they dipped their back tires in the Colorado River,
to Carlsbad, California, where they dipped their front tires into the
Pacific Ocean. Deborah and Marisa rode along in a motorhome, to camp
with them along the way and to cheer them on. Nick shared his love of
cycling with his father, with whom he rode his very first century ride,
the Tour of Palm Springs.
Nick loved spending time
with his family, and he enjoyed adventures and travel, so he found many
ways to combine the two. On a recent vacation, he and his family rode
the rapids of the Grand Canyon on a raft, and learned to ride ATCs and
horses. They found delight in the outdoors, whether kayaking or
cliff-jumping, and spent many weekends camping or skiing.
Nick is survived by his
wife, Deborah, his children Nicholas and Marisa, his parents, Nick and
Judi Venuto of Austin, his sister Rochelle Venuto and brother-in-law
Rafael Sabelli of Oakland and their daughters Olivia and Alessandra, his
sister Debra Little of Chicago, and his brother Tony Venuto and
sister-in-law Julie Venuto of Oakland.