Peter S. Relyea

Peter S. Relyea passed away in Loveland, Colorado on October 29, 2024. He was born on October 6,1944 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and spent the majority of his life in the Hudson Valley in New York. He was the oldest son of the late Sheldon H. Relyea and Frances Evans Relyea and proud big brother to Paul F. Relyea (Jerrilee) who survives in Staatsburg, N.Y.
Peter graduated from FD Roosevelt High School and attended SUNY Farmingdale until things escalated in the Vietnam War. Peter made the decision to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. His thinking was that if he were going to be drafted into the military, he would select the Marines in order to be well-prepared for service. He trained at Parris Island and Camp Pendleton before being sent to northern Vietnam near the DMZ, where he did, unfortunately, see more than his share of combat (1966-1968).
When Peter returned home from Vietnam he pursued his career in the sporting goods business. His skills as an outstanding athlete and skier along with the talents of a personable, knowledgeable salesman served him well. First, he worked for Wolf's, one of the large historic sporting goods stores at the time in Poughkeepsie. He later opened his own ski, tennis and athletic footwear store in Hyde Park called Sundance Sports, followed by a footwear specialty store in Wappingers, known as Feet First. His last place of business was Cassidy's in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Many a local skier enjoyed buying their first pair of skis from Peter and continued to be enthusiastic customers. They always enjoyed seeing him skiing down the slopes in the Catskills at Hunter Mountain or Windham Mountain.
Besides skiing, Peter's other love of his life was horses. That started when he was a young boy in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and continued for his entire life. One of his favorite horses was Revenue who lived to be older than most horses ever lived because of Peter's attentive, loving care.
In his later years, when most retire, the allure of the West continued to call Peter out to the freedom of the range where he enjoyed life working with and being surrounded by horses. He even achieved membership in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame by participating in the very last, well known but lengthy, cattle drive on record. Having skied out West over the years, the beauty of the western mountain ranges remained a geographical draw and where he would pass peacefully.
Besides his brother Paul (Jerrilee) with whom he had a close bond, he is survived by two nieces, Danielle Relyea Gilmour (Ryan), Chelsea Relyea, great niece Remy Gilmour, several cousins, first wife Linda Bartles Clarke, former wife Jeanette Relyea, and many ski and cowboy friends across the country.
There will be no local calling hours. Please smile at the thought of a good memory or a good "Pete Story" and think of him the next time that you ride a horse, get out on the ski slope, or take in a view of a beautiful mountain range.