On March 10th, long-time Ballardite and the oldest working real estate broker in the United States, George W. Johnson died at 98 years old.

"Up until three days before his death he was still working and drilling me about business," said his son Bob Johnson.

It wasn't until six weeks before his passing that his family and co-workers finally convinced him to stop driving himself to his Ballard office on 15th Avenue.

George W. Johnson Realtors was his passion.

"It was real fortunate to earn a living doing what he so much loved," said Molly Kell, who has worked as the office manager for 17 years. "Few people in this world can say they absolutely love their jobs and he did."

George was born in Wessington, South Dakota, on December 22, 1912, to Danish immigrants. The second of four children, George grew up on the family farm and spent his youth helping his father with the family homestead and learning the value of hard work.

He met and married Clarice A. Scandrett in 1933, while they were both attending a small Free Methodist college in South Dakota.

Recruited by the President of Seattle Pacific College (now SPU) on the promise that there would be work for him to pay his tuition, George finished his last two years at SPC’s Seattle campus. He worked as the school's baker, rising at 4 a.m. every morning.

George completed his college degree in 1936 and after his parents moved to Seattle, George and his father started a dairy farm on the land where Viewlands Elementary School sits today. George ran the dairy’s north end milk route while working as an elementary school teacher in White Center.

After sending $5 to Olympia for a real estate license, George started selling homes from a real estate office on 15th Ave N.W., neighboring the current practice.

"He thought there was business there. On his routes he saw that people needed help," Bob said. "He had an affinity for land from his farming days."

He fell in love with the profession and over the next 75 years as a real estate broker, he would become an early pioneer in the Seattle Real Estate Industry, a founding member of what evolved into today’s regional Northwest Multiple Listing Service, President of Seattle Board of Realtors and a member-emeritus of the WAR & NAR.

"He was devoted to his family, to the First Free Methodist Church, and to his real estate business," Bob said.
George was also closely affiliated with SPU and a regular at SPU's annual golf tournament, the Falcon Golf Classic.

After his wife's death in 1993, George remarried to his widowed sister-in-law, Esther Johnson. They spent the next 17 wonderful years together until her passing at age 101 in 2010.

When none of his siblings expressed interest in continuing the family business, Bob took over while George continued to work six-hour days.

"I was raised into real estate. I think it's in your blood when your dad does it. Real estate was all he ever talked about at the dinner table," Bob said. "It was an honor for me to spend everyday in the office with him. He was generous with advice and his depth of experience was an invaluable resource."

George suffered from pulmonary fibrosis and in the last four weeks of his life, George decided that perhaps his little energy was best spend at home and stopped coming into the office.

"After a doctor's visit he said, "Well Bob, it looks like I'm not coming into the office anymore". That was a huge thing for him to say," Bob said.

George is survived by his loving children and step children, Jim Johnson and his wife Barbara; Joybelle Johnson-Eriks and her husband Paul Eriks; Karen Johannsen; Robert Johnson and his wife Karen Hoven; JoAnne McDonald; Carolyn Murphy and her husband Gerald; and Janet Henkel. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren and 6 great-great-grandchildren.

A memorial service honoring George’s life will be held at Seattle First Free Methodist Church at 1 p.m. on Sunday March 20. The church is located at 3200 3rd Ave W.
Memorial donations may be made to First Free Methodist Church, Seattle, the Clarice A Johnson Memorial Fund Seattle Pacific University, Operation Night Watch Seattle, Warm Beach Retirement Health Care Center, Stanwood, Wa., or New Horizons Ministries, Seattle, Wa.