<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Flo Lanza was happy with her newly renovated home on Gayle Street when her father-in-law suggested she and her late husband, Joe, purchase property on Shell Beach Drive.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“He thought it was just too good an opportunity to pass up,” Flo said.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">That was 60 years ago. Nineteen years ago Flo and her husband moved across the street to the home in which she now lives.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Joe designed the 3,500-square foot house.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“He was quiet and easy going, but very creative,” Flo said.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Cathy and Bob Kleinschmidt helped with the foundation. The house is roughly modeled from a Bob Kleinschmidt drawing of the old Shell Beach Pier. Jeanette Richey was interior designer. Rick Sanders installed the many windows in the home. Carl Arceneaux was the lead carpenter. The late Russell Stutes was contractor.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“We wouldn’t have asked anyone else but Russell to build it,” Flo said. “It wasn’t a typical project for him. It was custom, and it was unlike any other home he was building in the area at that time.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The house is two-storied, eight-sided with cedar shake siding, white trim and a widow’s walk. Every room of the house overlooks the water. It’s not merely a waterfront property. It is built on the water.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“Joe finished his boat dock before he finished the house,” Flo said, chuckling. “He loved to fish.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Flo described her husband as “the best fisherman in Lake Charles.” Their home on the water has the only boat launch on Shell Beach Drive.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">He was a past Commodore and lifelong member of the Calcasieu Boat Club and served on the board of directors for the Southwest Louisiana Fishing Club. The Big Lake Invitational Fishing Tournament named him Sportsman of the Year twice. He was also a past Outstanding Angler of the Year and was a winner at many other fishing tournaments throughout his life.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Flo started taking Wednesdays off to fish with her husband, which meant he fished, and she read.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The only request Flo made when her husband began to design their home on the lake was to ask him to make sure she had a decent-sized closet. He decided to also ensure she had plenty of storage at her fingertips for her seasonal decorations, which change four times a year, crystal and other dishes for entertaining.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The house is designed for entertaining with its large open areas and octagonal table that mimics the design of the house. An upper and lower deck with plenty of tables, rocking chairs and deck chairs almost completely wraps around the home.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“I never knew how busy the lake was until I lived here,” Flo said. “There is always something going on.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">These days Flo’s entertaining is mainly limited to her large family. She has five children, six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. In the past, her home was known as the hangout for her children and their friends.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Joe Lanza, the son of Mike and “J” Lanza, grew up in Lake Charles in the Locke-Monsour house at 929 Broad Street. Mike Lanza had several businesses, including Twin Gables Restaurant, Lanza Enterprises, a commercial construction company, and Lake Charles Electric. Joe decided to join Lake Charles Electric, which was established here in 1929. When Mike decided to add a lighting fixture showroom, Joe spearheaded that business. Joseph’s Electric was established in 1973.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Flo Lanza also grew up in Lake Charles. Her parents were Pearl and Lawrence Meyer. Lawrence was German. He worked at the rice mill and he was a strict parent, according to Flo, who thought young girls should not even be allowed to be in a car with a boy.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Nevertheless, at the age of 13, Joe noticed Flo and Flo noticed Joe. They became high school sweethearts. When Joe graduated high school and left for Chicago to go to electrical school, Mike Lanza volunteered to drive Flo to meet him and they were married.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“We didn’t want anything fancy,” Flo said. “It suited me just fine.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Flo worked with her husband in his business until she had her first child, Michael, now deceased. Michael was followed by Randy, Ricky, Danny, Joey and Vicki.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">When Flo’s youngest entered kindergarten, she joined Joe at the shop again. At 84 years of age, she is still working with no plans of retiring. She’s also planning to stay in her home on the water – as long as she can she said — where the view of the lake changes in accordance with the mood of the weather and the sound of waves lapping against the boathouse casts a deep calm.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“It took quite a long time for us to get approval to build here,” Flo said.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Part of the process included receiving permission from the governor.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Though the home is well elevated, Flo did worry about what she would find when she returned immediately after Hurricanes Rita and Ike.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The house stood strong, but Ike invited the surrounding lake into the Lanza home. Flooring had to be replaced on the first level. Russell Stutes was one of the first to walk into the house after the hurricanes.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Although Joseph’s Electric is known in the Lake Area for supplying gorgeous crystal chandeliers and trending lighting fixture, the lighting in the Lanza home is elegantly simple: wall sconces of real alabaster that have the appearance of half moons and alabaster gloves on a brushed nickel transitional chandelier.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“At the time, few suppliers had brushed nickel,” Flo said. “So we had to go to market to find what we wanted.”</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The house is furnished with a few antiques. The piano and desk are from the Broad Street home where Joe grew up. The large armoire from the mid-1800s was purchased by Randy Lanza when he was at Louisiana Tech. In one of the upstairs baths is a countertop of marble from the former Calcasieu Marine National Bank.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Original art includes a fish sculpture by Charlene Kaough, which seems to be at home in the lake-filled wrap-around view of the Lanza home. Much of the art, including the crucifix at the entrance and the large Madonna painting in the master bedroom were gifts from Flo’s children.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Flo employed a simple philosophy when she decorated 19 years ago.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“If you keep it simple, you don’t get tired of things,” she said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">She relied on the skills of her son, Randy, and Jeanette Richey when choosing some of the color used in the home.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Her answer to what makes a house a home was equally as simple: “It’s family.”</span><p>The front of the Lanza home faces Lake Charles</p>