Randall J. "Randy" Pineau, 52, of Newtown died unexpectedly as the result of a tragic boating accident on the evening of July 11. He was the husband of Katherine Pineau and the father to three young men, Ryan, Connor, and Cory. He was born in Owensboro, Ky., on October 27, 1964, to Patricia and Albert Pineau.

After graduating from Masuk High School in Monroe, Mr Pineau joined the United States Navy and served from 1982 to 1986, where he repaired tactical air navigation systems for our military's aircraft. He was stationed at NAS Norfolk.

During his enlistment, he met Katherine. After being discharged from the Navy, they relocated to Connecticut where they later married and started their family.

He began a career with Norden Systems in Norwalk from 1986 to 1994, as a QA test technician, where he met many dear friends. He later resigned that position and chose to follow his passion and hobby of working with computers. Mr Pineau was often referred to as the "Computer Guru."

After leaving Norden, Mr Pineau advanced quickly in his new career as an IT field technician and ultimately was promoted to CTO for AccuCom Consulting in Westport until 2012. After being offered a position with Louis Dreyfus Co. as a network administrator, Mr Pineau accepted the position and had since progressed to the position of infrastructure operations lead, NAM.

Mr Pineau was one of a kind. Always happy and willing to help where he could, he was selfless and kind and delighted in making people laugh with his silliness. Mr Pineau was a champion and hero to so many, but most importantly to his family, whom he loved dearly. He had a zest for life and loved vacations with his family and friends. He had a keen eye for photography, proven by his extensive library of photos. Mr Pineau loved music and had quite a diverse mix on any number of devices. His iTunes and Pandora stations were filled with music genres that range from Mozart to Johnny Cash, The Tubes, Meghan Trainor, and Zac Brown Band - even Taylor Swift! He lived by the mantra of always leaving things better than you found them: enter as strangers, leave as friends.

Besides his wife and three boys, his sister-in-law, Michelle Elise and husband Charlie; his brother-in-law, Keith Kuhnemund; his niece and nephews; as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins; and his beloved dog, survive him.

His parents, Patricia Pineau and Albert Pineau, and his mother-in-law, Patricia Moore, predeceased him.

Calling hours are Friday, July 21, 4 to 7 pm, at Honan Funeral home, 58 Main Street, Newtown.

A graveside service will be conducted at 10 am on Saturday, July 22, at Zoar Cemetery, 53 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook. Family and friends are invited to join in a Celebration of Life at Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse, 18-20 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook, immediately following the services to share favorite memories and stories of Mr Pineau.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: Camp Rising Sun, PO BOX 472 Branford CT 06405, or Sjögren's Syndrome Foundation, 6707 Democracy Boulevard, Suite 325, Bethesda MD 20817.