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Following the news of Nestor Weigand Jr.'s death, reactions have started to pour in speaking to the impact the real estate icon had on his friends, peers and the industry in Wichita and beyond.
Weigand, the longtime CEO and chairman of J.P. Weigand & Sons, died Wednesday morning at the age of 84.
"When I moved back to Wichita 62 years ago, Nestor was the first friend I made," Koch Industries chairman and co-CEO Charles Koch said in a statement. "We have shared many great times and remained good friends ever since. He was an astute businessman, but more importantly, he was a caring, loving individual and a wonderful family man. I will miss him dearly."
Weigand spent more than 60 years at the firm his grandfather, J.P. Weigand, founded in 1902. He had served as CEO since 1983 — when his father, Nestor Weigand Sr., assumed the role of chairman — and added chairman of the board to his duties in 2001.
Over those years, J.P. Weigand & Sons grew and maintained a prominent commercial and residential real estate presence in Wichita
"Nestor was loved throughout this company, all around the city he called home, and across much of the country, both for his impact on the real estate industry and for his incredible spirit and character," said Weigand president Kevin Dreiling on Wednesday in confirming the news of Weigand's death.
On Thursday, local real estate industry veterans talked about Weigand's legacy.
Marlin Penner, who has spent more than 50 years in local real estate, said, "Nestor was one of those guys that I always looked up to."
Penner said Weigand leaves a legacy — both within J.P. Weigand & Sons and throughout the commercial sector in Wichita — of ethics and treating others the right way.
"You could talk to him, and he wasn't gonna backdoor you," Penner said. "He just was a good, decent person."
Twenty-year Weigand residential agent Alissa Unruh said the loss of Weigand, who she called "a most personable and sincere man," hit her hard.
"One of the most impressive of his personal attributes was that Nestor would call every employee and agent on their birthday like clockwork," she said in a Facebook post. "(He) never missed my birthday in 20 years!"
Utter Commercial Real Estate president Tony Utter, who worked for two years for Weigand during his 45-year real estate career, said he experienced Nestor Weigand Jr.'s character as both a competitor and a team member.
He also had a personal story to share about Weigand.
One Saturday while working for J.P. Weigand & Sons, Utter was in the office and he heard a noise coming from the reception room.
It was Weigand, sorting the mail for everyone in the firm.
"Nestor was probably the most modest, unpretentious, sincere, professional real estate broker that I've ever worked with," Utter said.
Veteran Weigand colleague Grant Tidemann echoed others.
"Nestor Weigand Jr. was a great mentor to me, and I was lucky to call him my friend, as well as a business associate for over 40 years," Tidemann said. "He treated me and everybody with great respect and class."
Many emphasized that Nestor Weigand Jr.'s impact went far beyond Wichita.
Weigand, an inductee in the Wichita Business Journal's Real Estate Hall of Fame class of 2018, was a past president of the National Association of Realtors and the International Real Estate Federation.
“Nestor Weigand was a pillar in our community and in our industry – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally," said Dan Unruh, founding partner at InSite Real Estate Group, in a statement that also emphasized Weigand's humility and philanthropy. "He was a true gentleman who would always operate from a position of integrity and professionalism."
"His passing is a huge loss for our community and for our industry," continued Unruh, who called Weigand a role model. "Certain people cross your path in life and you just know that their influence on you will have a lasting positive impact. Nestor was one of those people."
Weigand's accomplishments included winning the 2009 WSU Center for Real Estate and the Kansas Chapter of Certified Commercial Investment Members (CCIM) lifetime achievement award along with his brother Michael Weigand, who died in 2014.
Stan Longhofer, director of Wichita State University's Center for Real Estate, said it was particularly impressive to see Nestor Weigand Jr. guide the company to thrive in its third generation of family leadership — which he said can be a real challenge for family firms.
"If anything, Nestor took it to a new level," said Longhofer, noting he found in his interactions with Weigand that he was always eager to learn. "That's just really a testament."
Additional industry peers praised the mark Weigand left.
“Nestor built an impressive real estate company and he was an important part of our tight commercial real estate family in Wichita," said Brad Saville, Landmark Commercial Real Estate founder and CEO, in an email. "He will be missed. I had a lot of respect for him."
"His contributions to the real estate industry, locally and nationally, were unprecedented and his support and involvement in the Wichita business community was exemplary," NAI Martens said in a statement. "The company he built, the lives he influenced and the relationships he nurtured will be his legacy."
Weigand's death also drew reaction from U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who said one of the first individuals he sought advice from before running for public office was the real estate legend. He added that he "enjoyed many conversations with Nestor over breakfast and lunch and greatly benefited from his wisdom."
"Often in Washington, D.C. or in my travels across the country, when I said was from Kansas, I would be asked about Nestor," Moran said in a statement. "He had many, many friends in many places. He was a giant in the real estate industry and made a huge difference in people’s lives. Not only was he an expert in real estate, he was also a leader in the Wichita community and understood the people of Kansas."