Former county commissioner Bill Goni dies

Bill Goni, an Ormsby County commissioner who served during the transformation of Carson City to a city government, died Monday. He was 92.

Goni and his family have a prominent place in Carson City. The family's name graces a hill and a street in Carson City, and the former commissioner was instrumental in establishing Fuji Park.

Goni was an avid tennis player, sheep rancher and horse rider, serving as a member of the Kit Carson Riding Club for several years.

Goni served as a commissioner for 18 years.

"He was one of the fairest-minded people I knew," said friend Jim Roberts, who played tennis with Goni for 40 years. The two traveled throughout Nevada and California to tournaments, with mixed results, Roberts said. "Every time we went to California, we got beaten in the first round," he said.

Goni was a sheep raincher who grew up on a street that's now named for his family.

Well into his later years, Goni remained active in the community. In 2001, at a county commission meeting, Goni spoke of protecting open spaces such as Fuji Park.

"There were so many volunteers in the early days to set Fuji Park up," he was quoted as saying in an Aug. 4, 2001, article in the Nevada Appeal. "A lot of them are not around today. I think in their memory, you should always keep Fuji Park. To put commercial property in would certainly spoil it. I'd like to ask you to save Fuji Park for Basil Woon, for Fuji Woon, and for me," he said.

Roberts said the two differed politically, but Goni never highlighted those differences.

"I could call him a very good friend," Roberts said.

At his request, no services are planned for Goni, who was born Sept. 27, 1915, in Carson City. Walton's Chapel of the Valley is in charge of arrangements.