Peter Sinnott

August 3, 1949 - December 21, 2024

On the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2024, Peter Damian Sinnott was at home in Carson City, Nevada surrounded by his loving family when he transitioned peacefully. He was 75 years old. Pete was a man of immense kindness, grace, and wisdom. His gentle presence, quick wit, and great ability to make others smile will be forever remembered. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lisa Sinnott; his children, Amy, Dominic, and Quinn; his daughter-in-law Zeina; his grandson Zaiden; and his siblings, William, Robert, Paul, and Suzanne.

Born in 1949 in Abington, PA at Abington Memorial Hospital to parents William and Margaret Quinn Sinnott, Pete was the middle child in a family of five siblings. As a child, he was always curious and adventurous, questioning how things work and engaging with nature. He also loved singing out loud, a habit he carried with him his whole life. The family relocated to Carson City in the early 1960s, thus beginning Pete’s deep connection with the West.

Pete met Lisa in 1971, and they hit it off immediately. In early 1974, they back packed through Europe together, visiting several cities, including the Isle of Capri, where Lisa’s mother was born. Later that year they married and eventually welcomed their first child. In 2024 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, returning once again to Capri, this time with the family they’d built together. Of the many accomplishments in his life, Pete was most proud of his family. He was a dedicated husband and father, consistently putting his wife and children
first. Over the years, he rarely missed sporting events or school productions and enjoyed organizing family trips. As a father, he was as good as they come. He raised his children to be open-minded and kind; teaching them by example to value people for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, physical appearance, or political affiliation. Pete provided his kids with unconditional love, and unwavering support and encouragement, which instilled in them the confidence to believe they could do anything they set their mind to.

In 2015, Pete became “Baba” to Zaiden. He was excited to be a grandfather, and was fully engaged in Zaiden’s life and encouraged Zaiden in athletics, academics, and outdoor adventures. Pete was committed to teaching enduring life lessons to his children and grandson; he poured his energy into inspiring and guiding his children and others to reach their full potential.

Pete loved the wide-open spaces of the US West and hiked, ran, biked, and camped
throughout Nevada, California and Oregon. He savored the beauty of a crisp star filled sky, the smell of the sage and the pines, and the changing colors of the landscape throughout the seasons. He loved exploring the path less traveled and always wanted to see what was over the next horizon. In the 1980s, while working full time at Harrah’s Hotel and Casino, Pete combined his entrepreneurial spirit with his creativity and love for nature, and started a full service landscaping business, which he named “Western Environments.” He and his team landscaped residential and commercial properties throughout the Carson, Reno, and Lake Tahoe areas. He cared deeply about his crew and treated them like family. From almost any
vantage point in Carson City, you can see one of the many beautiful landscapes created by Pete and his crew.

Pete was one of the best runners to come out of Carson City. He was a track and cross country letterman at the University of Nevada Reno between 1968 and 1972, and at one time held eight Nevada track records. Pete was a member of a close knit cadre of middle distance runners from around the globe. They won the NCAA cross country championship in 1968. Pete’s school record of 1:48.2 for the 800-meter run in 1972 stood as the longest-existing
individual University of Nevada Track record when he was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1969, Pete won the first Journal Jog, running sub 5-minute miles for all 5 miles of the race. He participated in the Journal Jog many more times throughout his life, most recently in 2024, with his son, Dominic.

From 2006-2020, Pete coached the Carson High School Cross Country team. During his tenure, he fielded highly competitive, championship teams and coached world-class individuals. His main source of pride, however, was in building up each person, helping them to grow and become the best version of themselves. He was so much more than a coach; he also served as a teacher, mentor, and friend. Pete took great pride in the team-building trips to Yosemite and the Sierra Buttes, and the “special days”, such as “life lesson” day, poetry day, and ‘be thankful’ day. He guided the kids to believe in themselves and strive to be better than the day before. He shared lessons on hard work, determination, mental toughness, and resilience that applied on the cross-country course and flowed into all aspects of life.

Pete was a gift to this world; a rare human, full of kindness and curiosity. He possessed the unique quality of making everyone he met feel truly seen and valued, granting each person his complete presence and undivided attention. Conversations with him felt like an adventure a rich, deeply meaningful path of wisdom and exploration. Pete made a positive, indelible impact on everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and community. Pete’s legacy will live on for many years to come – through the family and friends he loved steadfastly, through the runners he coached with care and compassion, and through the beautiful landscapes he created within the community.

Pete wanted to express his heartfelt gratitude to, and appreciation for, each and every one who has been a part of his journey as a coach and business owner. He recognized that there is no “I” in “team,” and each person played a significant role in every achievement, whether for Western Environments or Carson High School Cross Country.

The family extends a sincere thank you to the hospice team at Advanced Hospice and the medical staff at Carson Tahoe Hospital, Renown Regional Medical Center, and Cancer Care Specialists.

A celebration of Pete’s life is being planned for the Spring of 2025. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.