David Gurzenski-Lukes:
CLASS OF 1965
Douglas High SchoolClass of 1965
Douglas, AZ
David's Story
I'm up here in the mountains of Southern California, living in the small town of Big Bear a two drive east of LA, far away from the big city. There's a lake, pine trees and ski slopes that attract tourists from the big cities of Southern California. And bears? Well, I can’t say I’ve seen one myself. However, the next-door neighbor managed to snap a photo of a mother bear leading her two cubs down Green Mountain Drive in front of one of properties that compose a vacation-rental business I established about two decades ago. I named this cabin the “Almost-to-Heaven Hideaway” because of its location in a section of town known as Whispering Forest, some 7,000 feet above sea level. We have mild weather here, with temps in the 70s. If we have two days in a row above 80 degrees, we call it a heat wave. That’s quite a change from Douglas where most of us grew up.
But let me go back to what happened after graduating from DHS in ‘65. At Cochise College, I was vice president of the student body and editor of the campus newspaper. Then it was on to Arizona State University, where I also served as editor of the student body newspaper. After earning my undergraduate degree in journalism in 1969, I went to work for the University of Arizona Alumni Association, where I was assistant director for alumni publications. Evenings were spent in night classes that led to a master’s degree in communications.
I moved to Southern California in the early 70s, becoming director of publications for San Diego University. Next came UCLA a position at UCLA, where I was director of alumni and development publications. I also worked for nonprofit organizations, such as United Way and the City of Hope, a large medical center east of LA.
I began to invest in Southern California real estate when the market was going through the roof. I started picking up properties in the cities where I worked -– San Diego, LA and Orange County. I found I had a knack for transforming fixer-uppers into beautiful homes. I would either do a quick flip or hang onto them as rentals until the time was right to sell. I took the California real estate license exam, not tha...Expand for more
t I ever wanted to sell real estate myself. Instead, I became a real estate instructor for an Orange County business school.
Things were going great until the Southern California real estate market took a dive. That caused a big drop in students wanting to earn their real estate license. As a result, the size of the real estate department was reduced. I didn’t panic. A woman I had helped earn her real restate license lived in Big Bear. As a thank you, she invited me up the mountain, where she had gone to work in a real estate sales agency. She talked me into purchasing a weekend get-away cabin up here in paradise. I’m glad she did. The weekend cabin became the first vacation-rental property in my newly formed business, which I named “Beary Special Cabin Rentals.” Now, come on. You must admit that’s a clever name. The sale of my coastal properties went to purchase other Big Bear cabins for the business. At one time there was a total of seven. The equity from the sale of my San Diego property alone made it possible to pay off the mortgage on a large cabin that I now call home.
I finally faced the fact that I wasn’t getting any younger. About two years ago, I began selling off the Big Bear cabins. The profits have been set aside for my long-term care, as well as an investment account I created for my two daughters. Oh yes, I’m a dad. Jennifer is an attorney in Washington DC where she oversees the work of company auditors. Julie works as a computer programmer for a large conglomerate. She has two sons. Drew is an airline pilot; Jake is a student at Florida State University). Being a grandfather -- well, that really makes me feel old! Julie had some free time on her hands. She passed the Florida Real Estate exam and is now a successful real estate agent.
I finally can sit on the front porch swing and watch people walk their pups down the street. I devote my skills in publications and development to our church, where I was chair of a campaign that funded the expansion of the building. I continually write articles for our church newsletter and website. As Jimmy Stuart said in the movie, “It’s been a wonderful life.”
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