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Leo Zupan
Windermere / Van Vleet & Associates
Ashland Office,
541-482-3786
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Send an e-mail to Leo.
Leo moved to Ashland just prior to W.W.II and went to work for Fortmillers Department store. When war broke out he enlisted in the Army Air Force and flew B-17 bombers. His plane was shot down and he spent the last year and a half of the war in a German P.O.W. camp.
After the war Leo returned to Ashland and married Veda Williams. They had three children Cloma, John, and Patricia.
In the late 50’s Leo was a factory rep for Gordon & Ferguson Company, a 100 year old company that made quality outerwear. His region was Washington, Oregon and Northern California, which resulted in quite a bit of travel. The off season was June 10th through September 15th. After about five years Leo started thinking about how to quit the road; his children were growing up and he wanted to be home year round.
Leo was used to commission sales and did not want to get tied to a salary. He decided real estate might be a good fit. He took the real estate test in November of 1962 and began selling in June of 1963 for the Clarence Bell office. Leo found that he could make a living if he worked hard. Real estate was much different back then; there was not a multiple listing service, offices were not very fancy and most of the agents had pensions or other income so they didn’t work very hard.
Bob Van Vleet and Louise Myers managed Clarence Bell's office when Clarence took an extended vacation. They liked the way Leo worked and agreed to give him a 1/3 interest in their company if he quit traveling on the road. Leo spent one more season on the road and then became partners with Lou and Bob in June of 1964.
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