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Eighteen years in the past, Casey Council-Geha was an actual property beginner, desperate to make her mark within the uber-competitive Bay Space. Along with her license in hand, Council-Geha knew she wanted extra coaching to succeed and signed up for a category with Rick Geha, a top-producing agent, speaker, coach and coach with deep roots within the trade.
“I keep in mind leaving the category that day, calling my mother and my sister and saying, ‘I simply met the Sean Connery, Jesus Christ of actual property,’” she mentioned whereas laughing.
Council-Geha took a number of different lessons from Geha over the subsequent three years; nevertheless, their relationship didn’t spark till 2008.
“I had been pursuing him about having a dialog about going to a private growth coaching and we lastly sat down on April 28, 2008,” she mentioned. “He thought I used to be getting paid to get him to go to this coaching, which I used to be not getting any cash.”
“When he mentioned, ‘Why me?’” she added. “My response to him was, ‘I see you a lot larger than you see your self.’”
The coaching session turned Council-Geha and Geha’s first date and the beginning of a 16-year “fairy story” that abruptly ended when Geha, 66, unexpectedly handed away earlier this month.
“What was distinctive about Rick and myself is that we have been companions in completely each side of life and we persistently held one another up,” she mentioned. “The factor that I’ll miss essentially the most is … you already know … Gosh. We had a really distinctive and particular form of love.”
“I’ve somewhat factor that’s gonna go on his desk that form of sums up that sentiment, and it says, ‘On occasion, proper in the midst of an peculiar life, love comes alongside and brings you a fairy story,’” she added.
Council-Geha mentioned the weeks since Geha’s demise have been a blur, but she’s discovered solace in understanding her husband died doing what he beloved with the individuals he beloved.
Only a week earlier than his demise, Geha’s eldest son, Anthony, went to eXpCON along with his father for the primary time. Geha had been with the brokerage since 2017 and earned an ICON manufacturing award yearly since — one thing that garnered respect from hundreds of eXp brokers across the globe.
Council-Geha mentioned that was a dream come true for her husband, who’d lengthy wished to work side-by-side along with his son at The Rick Geha Group.
“The large factor that was taking place for him in his profession, after 43 years of promoting actual property, is that his oldest son had had a want to study the enterprise and work along with him,” she mentioned. “Rick was strolling on clouds introducing his son, daughter-in-law and eight-month-old grandson, Roman, to everybody,” she added. “Anthony on that journey mentioned, ‘Wow, I had no concept how huge of a deal my dad truly is.’”
Council-Geha mentioned 2023 had been a subject of desires for Geha, who’d reached new heights in his enterprise and relished changing into a first-time Jiddo, the Lebanese phrase for grandfather. He additionally achieved a 56-year dream of coaching with the Oakland A’s at Fantasy Camp for every week along with his sons, Anthony and Joe.
“Rick was a larger-than-life man who had boundless quantities of vitality,” she mentioned. “He’d been talking along with his goddaughter’s mom, and one of many issues that she mentioned to me a few dialog they’d the day earlier than [he passed], was that it was like he was on the top of his life.”
“Yeah, [he] was so happy with each of his sons. The enterprise was going nice. Life was going nice. He felt superb,” she added. “We’ve been collectively virtually 16 years, and life was firing on all cylinders. He was joyful and he was not harassed. He was at peace and, like, in her phrases, Rick was ‘the very best’ that we’d ever seen him.”
Council-Geha mentioned the household is making ready for a Celebration of Life service on Oct. 29, which has greater than 1,300 RSVPs from individuals coming from as distant as Europe. There’s an equal variety of individuals anticipated to attend by way of stay stream on Twitch.
“There’s one frequent theme that everybody has to say about Rick, and it was that when he was talking with you, you have been the one individual within the room. It was such as you have been his finest buddy,” she mentioned. “I’d say that encapsulates who he’s. He touched and helped individuals actually all all over the world.”
“I’ve a video recording by [eXp World Holdings founder] Glenn Sanford. He was speaking about Rick final week and he mentioned Rick embodied management, that management is engaged on your self to turn out to be a frontrunner of your self, after which going out and taking part in a giant recreation to assist different individuals,” she added. “That’s who he was.”
Council-Geha mentioned her household is devoted to conserving Geha’s reminiscence alive, with one of many first steps being a $100,000 GoFundMe to profit the Oakland A’s Make-A-Want Neighborhood Fund. The household has raised $9,708 as of Oct. 27.
“I believe he could be elated,” she mentioned. “Rick emceed charity occasions for native charities across the Fremont and Newark areas the place he grew up. He was undoubtedly anyone who was about giving again and making an affect in the neighborhood.”
Council-Geha mentioned Geha died “manner too quickly,” however she’s grateful for the years they’d collectively.
“We had the complete spectrum. We’ve been on the lowest of lows collectively and the very best of highs and utterly recreated our companies, our lives and ourselves collectively during the last 16 years,” she mentioned. “We did it collectively.”
E mail Marian McPherson
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