Sheri Samson
Walker Lake’s Pete Ferlisi.
If you ever meet Pete Ferlisi, you can’t forget his energetic conversations, his sense of humor or his enthusiasm as a doer of exploring the great outdoors. As a boater; skier; camper; 4-wheeler; ATV’er; walker; biker and “jeep’er” his retirement life is full of planning many great escapes.
With an employment history that took him from manufacturing to machine operator with Crown Zellerback, then truck driving to becoming a wood cutter, his longest career was alongside his wife, Nan, running a day care center.
“We moved from California to Nevada, with my wife running a home day care. With just four kids initially enrolled, it soon grew to 12 children, so we transformed the garage into a kid friendly school. Soon we outgrew that, I began working there and our home in Minden became an on-going business expansion until it was 3,000 square foot and was no longer our residence. The day care was a huge commitment, but an enjoyable one for many years.”
The couple retired a year ago, as the business sold. Ferlisi couldn’t help but reflect on the how fast a year of retirement went by. “That humble pre-school became a 33 year old business, with its own transport bus and eight teachers at one time. It expanded to take over our house, to the point where we had to live elsewhere, which was Carson City for 12 years then Topaz Lake for another 13 years. Looking back, it was timing and opportunities that kept us going forward.”
The Ferlisi’s raised a son and daughter, with memories of outdoor recreation always being a hub in their lives. Ferlisi remembered coming out to Walker Lake in 1988 in his family motorhome, just because it was such a vast space to ski without the competition of overcrowding, which a smaller lake such as Topaz had posed. They soon purchased a vacation home in Walker Lake, which gave them a relaxing getaway as business owners. Walker Lake proved to be a close enough commute for a weekend trip of fun. Later, they developed two lots with a home and garage as a permanent location.
Now, as a full time resident of Walker Lake, Ferlisi embraces his many memories on the lake and has seen the changes, but he still supports the community efforts to restore its greatness. “This is a wonderful lake, with history and fabulous views. I still ski this lake, but am looking forward to a proper boat ramp coming in as the Bureau of Land Management has promised.”
The Ferlisi’s just completed a 1,400 mile trip to his two-time a year favorite place, Moab, UT. This trip was just another facet of his variation of outdoor living which completes his life.
