George Loades posed with one of the bluebird houses he built for the February 2009 cover of REM.
Long-time real estate professional George Loades, 68, of Calgary died on September 22.
Loades made a significant contribution to Alberta’s real estate industry, serving as president of the Calgary Real Estate Board, the Alberta Real Estate Association, and the Real Estate Institute of Canada.
He was the broker/owner of Coronation Realty, a Calgary company he headed up since 1980.
Loades’ real love within real estate, however, was continuing education. He taught courses to other Realtors since the early ’70s, later criss-crossing the province when mandatory education was introduced into Alberta.
“That was a massive, marvelous move for the consumer, and it brought all of the rural, small Realtors and companies up to a standard they had never dreamt before,” said Loades when he was featured on the cover of REM in February of this year. “We’ve really leveled the playing field since, with standard forms from border to border – mandatory forms and mandatory education.”
His favourite hobby was building houses for a variety of birds, but in particular the mountain bluebird. He built about 300 birdhouses a year and donated them to the 60 members of the Calgary chapter of Mountain Bluebird Trails. Loades told REM that he’d built and set up 500 birdhouses along his trail; he also banded more than 2,000 birds a year.
“The greatest pleasure in birding is banding,” said Loades. “I’ve banded just over 30,000 birds. I recapture about 100-120 birds a year with bands and 90 per cent of the birds I recapture are ones I’ve previously banded myself.”
In 2006, Loades was honoured as Bluebirder of the Year for outstanding achievement in the field of bluebird conservation by the North American Bluebird Society (the second Canadian to win this award). He was presented with Alberta’s 2007 Blue Feather Award by the Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation of Lethbridge and the Ellis Bird Farm of Lacombe, for significant contribution to bluebird conservation in Alberta.
Along with his wife of 46 years, Ann, George is survived by his children, Patricia Loades of Calgary; David and his wife Dawn of Didsbury, Alta.; Kristine and her husband Toby Couchman of Houston, Tex.; and seven grandchildren.
