Peter G Gianforte’s life was defined by his love for the land and all things natural. Born to Addie and Joe Gianforte of Manlius, he spent his childhood working in his parents Chase Pitkin Garden Store, spending time with Joe in his stone carving shop and getting into trouble with a myriad of friends in high school along with his brother, Jay Gianforte. While attending college at Morrisville to study horticulture, Pete started out raising pigs. He loved animals, having raccoons and crows and more over the years, so being a pig farmer didn’t last long. He soon bought land in Cazenovia and started grain farming instead. He had many friends and mentors who joined in with all the different projects and adventures over the years, his brother Jay along his side through everything. He continued to expand and build, cultivating fields, creating wetlands and spending lots of time in the woods as a master forest owner. He met his wife, Judy Gianforte, through a mutual friend while in Alaska. Soon they got married and Judy joined the farm. They had two kids, Luke and Piper Gianforte, who grew up helping their dad on the farm, riding with him in the tractor, delivering grain, getting breakfast at diners, fixing equipment and having campfires in the woods. When the kids were young, Pete transitioned to organic farming, once again diving into something new to both him and many others in the farming community, with fierce determination to be great. For many years, Pete and Judy took advantage of quiet winters on the farm and took the kids in a camper down south, volunteering with the Nature Conservancy – conducting controlled burns, building bridges, rehabilitating sea turtles and more. Pete also volunteered, driving an ambulance for CAVAC in Cazenovia, always looking to find ways to use his big heart, for both nature and people. After college Luke returned home to run the farm with his dad, something they both had always wanted. They worked hand in hand for many years, with immense mutual respect – truly the perfect partnership. Luke married, and Anika Gianforte joined the family, bringing so much joy to Peter’s life, and soon the addition of two grandkids, Monzo and Jed Gianforte. Pete held himself and others to the highest standards, both one of his most admired and frustrating traits. He was the hardest worker you’ll ever meet, was exceptionally intelligent and had a charisma everyone who met him was drawn to. You couldn’t help but love Pete. For someone who considered himself anti-social, he had a wide community of friends he saw and spoke with often, the driveway to the barn always busy with visitors stopping in to see him and what he had built. He had immense pride in his work and was one of the rare ones that wholeheartedly loved what they did. Pete struggled with his mental health, with years marked by ups and downs, but tried his very best to make it his superpower. His passing leaves a gaping hole in the lives of his family and friends, but we know his presence will be seen and felt everywhere he’s been and within everything he’s created. “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” – James A. Michener To the man that got to play his whole life – you are everything to us, and so loved. Love you, see ya. The family will share further details around a celebration of Peter’s life, to be held in summer 2025 at the farm. In lieu of flowers, we ask you to donate in his name to an organization of your choice, for a cause that Peter would love.