As the elder statesman of artisanal cheeses, Ignazio “Ig” Vella gave pointed advice to those who wanted to follow him into the handmade cheese business: “Don’t be stupid.”

He was a gruff straight shooter, and the salvo was his way of warning that success required a willingness to toil for uncertain financial gain.

Once that caveat was spelled out, Vella invariably became an unselfish teacher and tireless advocate for small-scale producers of cheese.

He had a lifetime of expertise — his father, Gaetano “Tom” Vella, pioneered Italian-style cheeses in the West after opening Vella Cheese Co. in Sonoma, Calif., in 1931.

The company is best known for its award-winning Dry Monterey Jack, which was originally marketed as a substitute for Parmesan and other hard Italian cheeses that vanished from the American market during World War I.

Ig Vella, who took over his family’s business in the 1980s, died June 9 at his Sonoma home after a long illness, said a daughter. He was 82.

“On the West Coast, and beyond, he was regarded as the godfather of artisanal cheese,” said Christine Hyatt, president of the Colorado-based American Cheese Society, which recognized him in 2006 with its first life achievement award.