Tony de Jong

One of my best memories is when your dad flew us up to Kalispell, Montana to look at a piece of property we were interested in.

I met Tony about 25 years ago in Arizona when I was a young realtor and Tony was an experienced and savvy real estate investor. I was the seller and he was the buyer in a real estate transaction. I was immediately impressed with the way he carried himself and his business acumen. As time went on and I got to know him better, I appreciated his straightforward and fair approach to situations.

I have struggled most of my life with being on time. After being late to meet him and making him wait for me several times, he told me that "you can't be successful in business and in life if you can't be on time". That lesson stuck with me and helped me to change my bad habit and be more aware of other people's time, not just mine.

I always appreciated doing business with Tony, with his kind and patient yet firm approach. I will miss him.

-Paul Aslanian

Dad taught me how to live life and how to make it work he was a humble man who loved his children and loved his family

Tony was a man of generosity and grace, hiring my dad for work during a time when he truly needed it, and that meant more to my family than he might ever have realized.

I have many childhood memories helping my dad on Tony's job sites, starting with picking up scraps when I was seven or eight years old, eventually hanging and finishing drywall as a 13-year-old, and watching as Tony would stop by in his little blue pickup truck to inspect progress.

One of our best family memories was at Lake Wildwood where my dad worked on a job for Tony. We helped him work, and then we boys spent the rest of the time enjoying the lake, our campsite, and watching the movie E.T. at the little theater in nearby Grass Valley.

My dad, who died in 2001, struggled with alcoholism, and Tony knew that and extended grace to him.

I wish I had told Tony how much that meant to us before he passed, so instead I am sharing it here with his daughters and friends. His impact reached beyond what he may have known, and I am grateful for his kindness.

Richelle I send my deepest and most heartfelt condolences to you and your family. Your dad reminded me so much of my grandfather because he was a no nonsense man. I gotta say that your dad and I bonded on a very crazy but hysterical way. I must admit that I had a boob job and your dad found out about it. Well, your dad saw me after about two weeks post op and he asked me how I liked my new breasts while eating dinner at a restaurant. I was totally flattered by what he said but I put the ball back into his court. I actually asked him what he thought of my new breasts. The best part was he grinned and said that they looked great! Tony I miss you but want to thank you for the weekend that you gave us crazy girls the time to spend with Richelle and have the best weekend of a lifetime.

Our family lived next door to Tony and Judy on Bush Dr in Los Osos. My first babysitting job was watching Stephanie and Tammy. I was only 12 years old at the time but my older sister was around if I needed help. Things were just different back then. I still have fond memories of babysitting for them. Tony was always around if I needed anything. He had a big heart and remember him as always being kind. My name is Linda Lady (Kussman) and thank him for giving me that start in life.