Okotoks community man leaves a lasting legacy

A devoted Okotoks family man, real estate icon and community supporter has passed away.

John Fraser died Aug. 9, after quietly enduring illness.

“He was stoic right through,” said his sister, Caroline Fraser-Derrick.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1950, John immigrated with his parents to Saskatchewan before moving on to Empress, Alta. He left Empress at 15 years old to finish high school in Red Deer and played hockey for the University of Calgary. The young hockey player was drafted by the Boston Bruins and played on their farm clubs in the U.S.

In 1974, John took on a position as the director of recreation and parks for the Town of Okotoks, with a population of about 1,100 at the time. He began his career in real estate in 1976, and opened Team Realty a few years later, where he and his wife, Manni, enjoyed award-winning careers.

He loved real estate and spent many hours in the office, but it was the family that meant the most to John.

“He just adored Manni and his children, and the home they built and the life they built,” said Fraser-Derrick. “He was so proud of his children because they are all incredibly successful, really talented at what they do, and they’re creative, and they’re adventurous and brave, and he just loved that about them.”

Friendship also meant a lot to John, she said.

Though he had left home after junior high, when she was just five years old, she said her brother had always kept up strong relationships with his school friends from Empress.

“His friends were so important, he just loved them,” said Fraser-Derrick.

One of those friends, and real estate colleague of 42 years, is Doreen Lewis. She was one of the first eight realtors who began at Team Realty with the Frasers.

“This was his world,” said Lewis. “He loved it.”

John received several awards over his career, including the TWH Saunders Award and 1996 Realtor of the Year. He was honoured as the #1 Royal LePage Realtor in Canada in 2015, and served on the Canadian Real Estate Association, Alberta Real Estate Association and Calgary Real Estate Board.

Lewis said he will be missed for his guidance and wisdom at what is now the Royal LePage Solutions office in Okotoks.

“He was the patriarch of this office,” she said. “He was everything. He’s the brains, the centre.”

John brought the office through difficult times, she said. When the economy crashed in the ‘80s, most real estate offices were devastated, but he was up-front with his team and let them know how much it cost to keep the lights on.

He motivated them to keep going when it was looking bleak, she said.

“He got us through, and we thrived on the other end,” said Lewis. “We were really well-known and well-respected in the real estate world, because of him.”

Part of the reputation was presenting a polished image in the public eye, whether that meant having properly cleaned and installed lawn signs or wearing matching high-quality western shirts with team belt buckles for the Town parade.

“John had real class,” said Lewis. “That meant a lot, because you always knew whatever was going on, it would be done right.”

Despite everything he did for real estate in Okotoks, Lewis said it shies in comparison to what he did for his community, particularly the Okotoks Food Bank.

John hosted the annual Food Bank Christmas Concert, bringing in thousands of dollars per year for the organization. It was event of which he was immensely proud, she said.

More than helping raise money for the food bank, he helped the organization grow to meet its client needs, she said. He spearheaded a campaign to help pay the mortgage on a new building for the food bank to move out of the United Church.

“He wanted them to be in a location that was more hidden, so that you could go get your box and nobody saw you,” said Lewis.

The year after the food bank had moved into its new location, he purchased deep freezers with proceeds from the Christmas concert, which the Rotary Club then stocked with beef.

Next, he set them up with a computer system.

“He always had a vision as to where they should go, and it’s sad there’s a growth like that, but there is and he worked hard to for that,” said Lewis. “And he never said a word.”

It was his community efforts that earned John the Canada 150 Volunteer Award in 2017, part of the country’s bicentennial celebrations.

The concert fit two of John’s passions: community service and music. Having taught himself how to play guitar as a boy, he had always enjoyed playing with his band or joining jam sessions around Okotoks.

That’s how he connected with new friends in the community.

Ed Sands first met John after buying Okotoks Chiropractic in 1980. He joined a noon-hour businessman’s hockey league at the old arena, which was located where the library stands.

“That’s kind of where I first met John, playing hockey with him,” said Sands. “He was this big tall guy with a bass voice and a damn good hockey player.”

Over the next five years he would come to know Manni, who sold Sands and his wife Debbie their first Okotoks home in 1985. As a Lions Club volunteer Sands helped at many events where John’s band was often providing entertainment.

Through Town council, he came to know the businessman and realtor side of John, hearing reports from the Chamber of Commerce or business associations he represented, or commentary on development in Okotoks.

When John brought the Christmas concert to Okotoks, Sands worked closely with him, providing sound and light tech at its first location, the RPAC. He followed them as the event grew and moved to the Anglican Church, United Church and Evangelical Free Church.

“It was so great working with John on those concerts,” said Sands. “He was a strong musician and great at organizing. He knew everybody and twisted the appropriate arms to get money to give to the food bank, to get donations.”

He said the community will feel the loss of John Fraser.

“I will miss his solid wisdom,” said Sands. “He was a voice you trust.”

Dwight Forseth, who also worked the tech side of Christmas concerts, experienced that voice himself while being interviewed by John for the Room Full of Sound concert series.

“He was able to put a person at ease and make the interview feel like a conversation rather than something stiff and formal,” said Forseth.

As a professional sound technician, Forseth also hired John for voiceover work in his recording studio to capture “that signature voice.”

He also appreciated the charm and warmth that surrounded John during open mic jam sessions at the Royal Duke on Thursday nights.

“We all will miss John at those weekly jam nights,” said Forseth.

The jam sessions went beyond The Duke. John always invited the musicians from the food bank concerts to the Fraser home for an after-party, which inevitably turned into a musical affair.

It was a time to build more community and camaraderie among the musician group, he said.

“While he has left us we will continue the jam – metaphorically – so we can continue to build on what he has helped build in us and in our community,” said Forseth.

A funeral service for John will be held Aug. 20 at 2 p.m., at St. James Catholic Church.