Gary Ferravanti, loving husband, father, and grandfather, entered eternal life at age 64 on Thursday, January 13, 2022.
Gary was born in November of 1957 in Glen Cove, New York, to Hope and Charles Ferravanti. At the age of two, he moved to Santa Maria, California, where he met his life-long friend, Mike. As a child, Gary worked with his dad at the family auto body shop, where he learned how to repair any type of damage and developed an intense work ethic and eye for great-looking vehicles. In 1974 the family relocated to Paso Robles, where he and his dad built boats and started a trucking company that operated for nearly 20 years. He then started Ferravanti Grading & Paving and operated it over the last 25 years with his wife, Patty, and son, Gary Jr.
A brilliant fabricator, one of his favorite things was to spend time in his shop building just about anything imaginable. Gary did not accept the idea that something could not be done and always looked for ways to improve everything around him. If a machine didn’t work well or needed to work differently, he would just quickly design and build something to solve the problem. He was passionate about his business, hot rods, off-road vehicles, and racing. Racing allowed Gary to combine his skills to create fast machines with his signature style. He and his son spent countless hours together racing flat-track motorcycles, sprint cars, and off-road vehicles. During this time, Gary served as a mentor and friend to the many people that helped make racing possible.
Recently, he learned to slow down and do a bit of traveling all over the United States with the love of his life and greatest supporter, Patty. He loved being a grandfather. He enjoyed having the family over and grilling up his famous, secret recipe ribs.
Gary was preceded in death by his father, Charles, and his mother, Hope. He is survived by his beloved wife, Patty; his son, Gary Jr. (Kristin), whom he shared with former spouse Chris Mize; stepsons Ronnie (Theresa) Hinton; Daniel Brown; and David (Cadie) Brown; six grandchildren, all of Paso Robles; siblings Ferra and Lee Ann; numerous relatives and countless friends who will miss him dearly.
A celebration of life will be scheduled at a future date.