Realty Executives founder R. Dale Rector has passed away at the age of 84. Rector’s real estate career spanned nearly half a century.
Rector began his real estate career in 1953 in his native Pueblo, Colo., and founded Realty Executives in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1965. He was known as an innovator and a soft-spoken champion of real estate professionals industry-wide.
He continued to sell real estate in Arizona until he was 80 years old, when he turned his energy to oil and watercolor painting and helped his company raise money to support the families assisted by Habitat for Humanity International.
In 2003, Rector was recognized by Realtor Magazine as one of the industry’s 25 most influential professionals. Rector is credited as the inventor of the 100 percent commission concept in real estate brokerage.
He is survived by his wife, June, and children Janie Riels and the late Gary Riels, Gary Rector and Jacki Konetzni, Rich Rector and Robyn Lee Dependahl, Becky and Sean McDaniel, as well as his eight grandchildren, Lt. Gregory Riels, Jason Dale Riels, Aurelia Leroux, Elliott Rector, Katy Rector and Connor, Paige and Ryan McDaniel.
A celebration of Dale’s life will be held at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church. The family has requested that donations be made in his name to Habitat for Humanity International and The Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation-Cancer Center Endowment.
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