JEAN-LOUIS PELLEGRIN
Oct. 31, 1933-Jan. 18, 2016
Los Altos Hills, California

Jean-Louis Pellegrin died on January 18, 2017. He was 83.

Jean-Louis was born in Millau, France. He moved to the United States in 1962.

He received his degree in electrical engineering from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, and a master’s degree from Brooklyn Polytechnic.

He first worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, and then, for most of his career, at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), where he collaborated on the Center’s Nobel Prize-winning particle physics research, resulting in the discovery of quarks.

A talented perfectionist, Jean-Louis excelled at many avocations. He loved Baroque classical music and New Orleans jazz, had perfect pitch, and was a gifted clarinet and guitar player.

He was also a superb gardener, woodworker, mechanic, baker and cook, as well as a gifted photographer.

He took great pleasure in domestic duties, whether it was baking bread, curing olives, making cheese, or building an elaborate treehouse for his children.

Jean-Louis was also a marathon runner who competed in and won many races, from San Francisco to Big Sur, Boston to New York.

But despite his many gifts, he was always self-effacing. A gentleman by nature, his kindness was one of his most outstanding characteristics. His family and close friends also enjoyed his sense of the absurd and his wicked mimicry, especially in his native language of French.

The family wishes to express their profound gratitude to his extraordinary caregivers, Violet Saena and Liz Silva, whose nourishing care, lively spirits, and attentive guardianship made his last days happier, safer and more comfortable than they would have been without them.