William Colson, 66, built the world's largest retirement-home empire
wazzzy
William Colson, a Salem businessman who built the world's largest
retirement-home empire, has died at his Seattle home.
Colson, 66, died Sunday after a long bout with cancer; family members
were by his side, said Ewart Brown, a pastor at the East Salem Seventh-
day Adventist Church.
Colson was a member of the Salem church for about 40 years and served
as a church elder, Brown said. "He was a very spiritual man," he said.
The businessman and his wife moved to Seattle last year after he
scaled down his work activities, according to the pastor.
Colson's survivors include his wife, Bonnie, their two sons, Brad and
Bart, and three grandchildren.
The retirement industry pioneer died about five months after his Salem-
based Holiday Retirement Corp. struck a $7.5 billion deal to sell
about 300 senior-living communities to Fortress Investment Group, a
New York investment firm. Holiday's holdings were scattered across the
United States, Canada, France and England.
David S. Schless, the president of the American Seniors Housing
Association, called Colson an "incomparable visionary" and "a founding
father" of a burgeoning industry that provides affordable housing for
seniors.
"Bill prided himself on being a 'low-cost, no-frills' operator who
gave his residents good value," Schless wrote in a tribute released
Monday. "He was also among the very first operators to embrace the
importance of sharing data for the betterment of the industry."
Salem business associates and acquaintances described Colson as a
modest, self-made man who stuck to his lifelong core values and
religious faith before and after he became wealthy.
"He was a down-home guy," said Salem attorney Kris Gorsuch, who worked
for Colson. "He had great opportunities that his businesses provided
to him. But when you'd sit and have a cup of tea with him, he never
gave you the impression that he was wealthy. He had a great sense of
humor and a great outlook on life."
Colson started building senior-housing projects in 1963. Gradually, he
built Holiday Retirement Corp. into one of Oregon's biggest business
success stories. By his own account, success didn't come fast or easy.
"I don't feel rich," Colson said in a 2004 interview. "I couldn't pay
all the bills until I was 50, and it was a strain on all of us."
For the most part, Colson preferred to stay out of the newspapers.
Many Oregon business tycoons were better known, such as Les Schwab,
the recently deceased tire icon.
Even so, Colson garnered a prestigious honor in 1999, when the United
Nations presented him with a lifetime achievement award for his work
with seniors worldwide.
In recent years, Colson pitched ambitious development proposals in
Salem and east of the Cascades, where he scooped up large parcels of
land.
Last year, Salem voters approved a controversial annexation proposal
by Colson. He called for annexing to the city of Salem a prime chunk
of real estate at the city's northernmost tip near Interstate 5.
Colson's ballot-box win dealt a setback to land-use activists, who
contested the annexation because they feared that Colson planned to
build a large shopping center on the property. The site is across
Interstate 5 from the Keizer Station shopping complex. Colson
repeatedly maintained that he had no specific development plan for the
property.
In Central Oregon, Colson and his business partners pursued plans to
develop a 3,000-acre destination resort near Black Butte Ranch. The
project is on hold pending appeals of Jefferson County's destination
resort map, according to a recent story in the Bend Bulletin.
In yet another proposal, Colson's business associates recently won
preliminary approval from the Prineville Planning Commission for a
real estate project in the Eastern Oregon city. It would link
Prineville's downtown with its southern rimrock, adding 877 housing
units on a 232-acre site.
Colson was "a remarkable businessman," said Gorsuch, who represented
him on last year's successful North Salem annexation bid.
"He was very insightful, a very quick study," Gorsuch said. "He could
size up a situation incredibly fast and make well-reasoned decisions
very quickly."
It was Colson's humble, easygoing personality that left a lasting
impression on those who got to know him well, Brown said.
"He never conducted himself as if he was the boss," the pastor said.
"He was a man who made everybody around him feel important. When you
walked into his office, you'd get the feeling that you were the only
person in the world. I've never met a person like him in my life. I
wish I could be like him."
ALAN GUSTAFSON
Statesman Journal
May 22, 2007
Apairateef
"wazzzy" <enter...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1179864457.7...@h2g2000hsg.googlegroups.com...
> http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070522/NEWS/705220320/1001
>
> William Colson, a Salem businessman who built the world's largest
> retirement-home empire, has died at his Seattle home.
>
> Colson, 66, died Sunday after a long bout with cancer; family members
> were by his side, said Ewart Brown, a pastor at the East Salem Seventh-
> day Adventist Church.
>
> Colson was a member of the Salem church for about 40 years and served
> as a church elder, Brown said. "He was a very spiritual man," he said.
>
> The businessman and his wife moved to Seattle last year after he
> scaled down his work activities, according to the pastor.
>
> Colson's survivors include his wife, Bonnie, their two sons, Brad and
> Bart, and three grandchildren.
>
hmmmm there's .... Bill, Bonnie, Bart and Brad...wonder if the grandkids
were Banana 1, Banana 2 and Banana 3 :-)
Sarns
aka Bob
<arf...@flipflop.com> magnanimously proffered:
Gives a whole new meaning to "Plan B."
--
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~