Sault realtor still selling houses, 55 years after first transaction

At 89, John Thompson remains an active, well-known and respected figure in the Sault and Algoma District’s real estate industry.

In a recent conversation with SooToday, Thompson - always willing to drive long distances to meet with clients if necessary - stated he was planning to meet with prospective property buyers at a Batchawana Bay property at 8 p.m. so that they could observe the area’s sunset, the clients intending to buy the property if sufficiently awed by the area’s natural beauty.

“You build a name for yourself. I haven’t just sold houses. I’ve sold so much property for people and businesses as well,” Thompson said.

Born in the Sault in July, 1935 Thompson has been a lifelong resident of the community.

After graduating from Sault Collegiate he enrolled in a business training course at the Sault’s Technical School, or ‘The Tech’ (later known as Lakeway Collegiate, then St. Mary’s College before its current status as a privately-owned site for future residential apartments).

“There were 30 girls and myself, learning typing. They nominated me to be president of The Tech student council. I ran and I won,” Thompson recalled.

Thompson was very athletic in his youth.

“The Rotary Club sent me down to Muskegon, Michigan when I was 18 for a sports camp where we played basketball, did track and field and swam. There were 200 U.S. sportsmen and one Canadian, and that was me. That was quite an experience.”

He was a fast swimmer.

“I won a gold medal in swimming (in Muskegon). When we had swimming races I’d be sitting at the far end of the pool watching the others finish,” he said with a chuckle.

As a young man, he went to work with his father - John Thompson Sr., known as ‘Jack’ - at the Thompson Furniture family business at 26 Queen St. E. near the corner of Queen and Gore Streets in the city’s downtown. 

“That’s when Gore Street had all good businesses with good merchandise. There was the Royal Hotel. There was the Princess Theatre, a bank was on the corner, a pharmacy across the street. Gore Street was very popular and it had all good merchants. There wasn’t a store that wasn’t successful on Gore Street and that western part of Queen.”

After his father’s death, he closed Thompson Furniture and started a local real estate company with a business partner in 1969. He later worked for real estate firms Century 21, Fleming & Smith and is now still an active realtor with Castle Realty.

“I’ve sold property in a lot of subdivisions. I worked with Dr. Lou Lukenda, Soo Mill and a lot of contractors. I’ve had a lot of good friends in the community,” Thompson said.

He recalled that the 1960s and 70s were an exciting time in real estate as the Sault was growing at a rapid pace in that era.

Thompson has a long record of community service.

He has worked with the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce and on political campaigns for Alec Harry (who served as Sault Mayor from 1964 to 1968), John Rhodes and Russ Ramsay.

Apart from his family and career, Thompson has been dedicated to local sports as an athlete and coach with a special love for basketball.

Thompson Furniture sponsored baseball and basketball teams. 

In his younger years, he was a lifeguard for the Sault YMCA’s swimming pool and played for the Sault YMCA All-Stars basketball team.

That team had some notable names and faces on its roster.

It included:

• Russ Ramsay (as coach), broadcaster and later Sault MPP and provincial cabinet minister
• Jim Kelleher, lawyer and later Sault MP and federal cabinet minister
• Frank Donnelly, school teacher and principal
• Dr. Lou Lukenda, whose career included dentistry, being the founder and chairman of Extendicare nursing homes throughout Canada and Michigan, philanthropy and being owner of the Soo Greyhounds (his son Tim Lukenda now the team’s president and governor)

“The Y had a part in helping us become the people we came to be,” Thompson said.

Thompson is delighted with the Dr. Lou and Mae Lukenda Charitable Foundation for stepping in to purchase the nearly 60-year-old Sault YMCA building on McNabb Street in cooperation with the City of Sault Ste. Marie in order to keep the institution open.

“Look at what the Lukendas have done. They owned the Greyhounds and they have been very good to Sault Ste. Marie. I can’t say enough good about Lou (who died in 2017).”

During the 1970s Thompson coached the Algoma University College Thunderbirds basketball team on a volunteer basis.

“I used to rent the bus and drive it to take the team to Sudbury for games. I bought them supper on trips,” Thompson said.

That was long before Algoma University College’s George Leach Centre opened in 1992.

The university, once a college affiliated with Laurentian University, later became the independent Algoma University in 2008.

“There was no gym for us to practice at the university. We practiced at high school gyms and Sault College. We practiced at the Sault College gym and then we would beat Sault College in basketball games,” Thompson said with a laugh.

Still a fan of the sport, Thompson said he is looking forward to watching basketball matches at the Paris Summer Olympic Games on television.

As for his continuing career in real estate, Thompson - a widower whose wife Peggy Thompson (nee Currie) died in 2023, father of two and grandfather of one - shared his views on the value of hard work and honesty in order to succeed in that field.  

“In real estate, the biggest thing is if you say you’re going to do something you’d better do it. Do things on time and be honest.” 

“If there’s something you don’t know about a house or a property, tell clients you’ll find out. Don’t try and tell them a story. If you’re selling a cottage property you should know about the land surveys and what kind of septic systems they have to get, important things like that,” Thompson said.

“You’ve got to help people,” Thompson continued.

“It’s about service and you better know your service and look after people and if they need you, get there right away. Don’t postpone. You have to want to work. Don’t tell them you can see them on Friday when it’s Monday. When someone calls me and they want to list their house, before they hang up the phone my truck is pulling into their driveway. You’ve got to give good service and knowledge.”

All that knowledge, hard work and honesty has kept him in the business and sought by clients, Thompson is still selling houses in his late 80s. 

“When you’ve been in it as long as I have, people just call you,” he said, stating on a humorous note that he knows some of his current clients' grandparents.