Born Jan. 5, 1975
Springfield, Vermont
Died Aug. 23, 2025
Arcadia, California
Details of services
A memorial service in Peter’s honor held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, September 5, 2025 at San Marino Community Church, 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino, California.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Peter’s name to Johnny’s school, Westmoreland Academy, a leader in special education in Southern California, with a unique program for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Grounded in the belief that extraordinary students deserve an extraordinary program, Westmoreland Academy is essential to Johnny’s success.
Peter Hugh Sinclair
(1975 – 2025)
Beloved husband, father, brother, and friend, Peter Sinclair passed away on August 23rd following a short but fierce battle with cancer. He was surrounded and embraced by his loving wife Kate, daughter Mary, son Johnny, sister Molly, and family, who supported him with courage and resilience through his illness.
Peter and Kate Sinclair met in Boston in 2004, and they were inseparable from the day they met. They shared a mutual sense of humor, a love of hiking, and passion for their sports teams, including the Dodgers and Red Sox. Their love only grew stronger through years of triumphs and challenges in the life that they built together. Anyone could see they were made for each other. Peter only had eyes for Kate— she was his sunshine.
Residents of San Marino, CA for the past 14 years, Peter is known in his community as “softball Dad.” Afternoons and weekends, he could be found on the practice field with Mary. Peter built a batting cage in their backyard, where they practiced early mornings and after dinner. Kate, Peter, and Mary explored remote towns of Southern California and beyond on weekends for away games, often leaving before dawn and returning after dark. Peter couldn’t have been prouder when Mary recently committed to play softball at Brown University, Class of 2030.
Peter was equally devoted to his son Johnny. Together with Kate, they helped Johnny navigate living with Autism. Although Johnny is non-verbal, Peter and Kate have learned to communicate with him in many other ways. The entire family often hiked and explored the hills of Malibu and mountains of La Cañada. On summer trips to Bass Lake, Peter and Johnny raced around the lake tubing and jet skiing. Through countless adventures together, from Death Valley to Mount Baldy, Big Bear, and Utah, Peter would often say that Johnny taught him more than anything he learned in the classroom.
Not only did the Sinclair’s form a great team, Peter was a role model for all the children in his life. Known by his nephew Jack and nieces Kate and Maddie as the “fun adult,” Peter always sat at the kids’ table at family dinners. Peter was an avid fan in the stands at Little League games, always cheering for the kids, both on and off the field.
Born in Springfield, Vermont, Peter loved the outdoors. The 1993 Vermont State Boys Alpine Champion, Peter also played soccer in high school and college. Peter was a student of all things, a curious and lifelong learner. He graduated from Williams College magna cum laude with a double major in philosophy and chemistry. Peter taught English in Tokyo and interned at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. A Harvard Law School graduate, he began his career in Boston at McKinsey & Co. Although friends, classmates, and co-workers referred to Peter as “the most intelligent of all of us,” Peter lived his life with humility, focused on friends and family.
During his career, Peter became a brilliant entrepreneur. He held leadership roles in companies that spanned pomegranate juice, flowers, event tickets, financial services, and ultimately, music. He left his executive role at Universal Music in Los Angeles to follow his dream and build a company to fund the dreams of artists and musicians. Peter co-founded beatBread in 2020 to empower artists to make a living from their music without giving up ownership of their work. As CEO of beatBread, Peter and his team have helped artists pave their way, with financial advances to give them freedom to do what they do best – create. In a recent article, Peter said, “What music can do – nothing else can. Other than comedy, I believe music is maybe the only medium that can really change someone’s mind about an important issue. This is something I’d be proud to tell my parents that I’m doing with my life. beatBread fits that bill for me. The team at beatBread are all trying to accomplish something beyond building a business… we’re all doing our best to make a positive dent in the world, where more musicians have more choice to make music on their own terms.”
Peter made a positive dent in this world, and his impact is felt most profoundly by his family, who will miss him dearly. Peter is survived by his wife of 19 years, Kate Zaia Sinclair; daughter Mary Elizabeth Sinclair; son John Zaia Sinclair; sister Molly Sinclair and wife Rachel Piper; brother Jes Sinclair; mother-in-law Connie Zaia; sister-in-law Sarah Rome and husband Jason Rome; sister-in-law Brita Elise Zaia and partner Monica Rosa; nephew Jack Rome; nieces Kate and Madeline Rome. Peter is pre-deceased by his parents, John and Nancy Sinclair and father-in-law, John Zaia.
