Wendy M. Lister

Beloved mother, adored grandmother, and cherished friend, Wendy M. Lister passed away on October 2, 2019, at age 83. Wendy was born in 1936 in Washington D.C. to Leonard Downie and Helen Daggett Downie. Wendy lived the first four years of her life in D.C., while her father served as the Chief Appraiser for the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Roosevelt Administration. In 1940, Wendy, her parents and her brother moved to Chicago, Illinois. While growing up in Chicago she enjoyed Archery Club, Brownies and Girl Scouts and broke the Albert Tangora world record for typing speed on a standard typewriter.

In 1948, Wendy and her family moved from Chicago to Seattle, Washington, where they lived on Queen Anne Hill and she attended Queen Anne High School. Wendy went on to graduate with a B.A. from the University of Washington, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority.

In 1957, Wendy married John Lister Sr. and they had three children: Kathryn, John Jr. and James. Wendy and her family moved to Mercer Island in 1965. She loved living on the Island and lived there until she passed. She was dedicated to the Mercer Island community and was an influential member of many organizations that benefited from her contributions over the years.

Wendy began her real estate career in 1976 working with George Lister Real Estate. She then created her own company, Wendy M. Lister, and in 1995 she merged with Coldwell Banker Bain. For over 40 years she was a real estate icon, respected locally, nationally, and globally. During her career, she was always a top producer, she sold over 1.3 billion dollars of real estate since the MLS started keeping track of this type of statistic in 2001.

She was recognized as #9 Realtor in the Country by the Wall Street Journal.

She was a Vice President/Managing Broker and Global Luxury Ambassador at Coldwell Banker Bain. She was a Previews International Specialist in waterfront properties and luxury homes in Bellevue, Seattle, and the surrounding area. Often quoted at the first "Google" of waterfront Real Estate she could tell you the lineage, depth & dock length of 1000's of properties.

Wendy had an unparalleled approach to marketing and would search the world for the finest papers, applications, brochure designs, and innovative marketing like her digital books, there was no stopping her in her quest to be the best. Wendy above all loved to share her knowledge and help others achieve success. She was a mentor to 100's of successful agents; a leader, educator and trainer who was always willing to share ideas on how to sell real estate. For decades Wendy taught classes on purchase and sales agreements to Coldwell Banker Bain brokers and she chaired the company's weekly Thursday Forum - bringing education, knowledge, skills-development and marketing ideas to standing room only audiences of Bain brokers. Additionally, she was the co-founder of Forum XXII, a monthly best-practices "think tank" of top producing brokers from many companies in the Seattle-Bellevue markets.

Wendy's industry leadership roles included serving as Vice President for Coldwell Banker Bain, Director of Coldwell Banker Bain's "Exceptional Properties" brand, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Realtors. She developed a proficiency in Chinese Numerology and Feng Shui and was a member of the Asian Real Estate Association of America. She was recognized for her work in the industry annually with the Coldwell Banker International President's Premier Award and as a Five Star Real Estate Agent for Best in Client Satisfaction. Her numerous awards include being listed by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 1% of agents in the nation.

Wendy loved to travel and was a foodie, always on the hunt for a wonderful new restaurant and once it was on her "hot list" she would share it with everyone she knew. She was also a devoted fan of the Seattle Seahawks and an avid solver of The New York Times crossword puzzles.

Wendy's family and friends cherish the time they had with her and she will be missed by all. Wendy is preceded in death by her parents, her brother, John Downie, and her son, John Lister Jr. Wendy is survived by her daughter, Kathryn Lister (married to Azzeddine Mouhoub) of Seattle, WA, and son James Lister (married to Stephanie Lister) of Spokane, WA, and six granddaughters: Stephanie, Tierney and Melanie Lister of Oakland, CA, Sione Lister of Seattle, WA, and Hailey and Hannah Lister of Spokane, WA.