Dee Maxwell

Dee Maxwell, her grandson Matthew Anderson and daughter Holly Harwig enjoy celebrating Dee's retirement and career at a party this week at the East Bay Hotel.
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"Retiring" is not a word most people would associate with Dee Maxwell.But this gifted businesswoman who arrived on the North Shore at just the right time, this too-young-to-be-a-great-gramma who loves to laugh and isn't shy about sharing her opinions, is indeed retiring as of last week. After 22 years of selling real estate and renting vacation homes - Maxwell founded Superior Properties in 1982 - Dee has packed up, sold her Grand Marais home and is now on her way with husband Glen to a new home in Boulder, Col.To wish her well and share nearly a quarter century of shared memories, Maxwell's business associates, past and present, packed the Viking Room at the East Bay Hotel Tuesday at noon.It was a surprise retirement party and it was both a complete surprise and a celebration. As she relived her North Shore life, Maxwell's co-workers stopped at her table and often shared "remember when?"tales.But she had the best yarns, as always. She came up on a lark in the fall of '82, hearing that a fellow named Nordahl (Doug) needed some help selling condos on the shore.She rented a little apartment right across the road from the condos (Norwood Shores) at Clearview.In May of '83 she started Superior Properties in her living room. "Then there were only three other real estate companies up here," Maxwell said.
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Maxwell said, still amazed at the boom on the shore.But boom it did and quickly. In 1985, Maxwell hired her first sales associate, Judy Motschenbacher, and soon moved into a remodeled garage beneath her apartment.
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But the Lutsen office is now Cascade Property Sales and is owned by Steve and Kate Surbaugh, agents for Maxwell who have lived here several years.
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But back to the stories: Maxwell says her goofiest rental story involves a renter calling a deputy to come get a bat out of their cabin."Must have been a slow crime night, because he went!"Maxwell hooted. The weirdest place she ever wrote up a purchase agreement?"In my hospital bed." Her first sale?"Closed with a handshake." Her plans for retirement?"Working with her son Steve Altermatt, who (of course) owns a real estate business in Boulder. "I told him no keeping books," Maxwell said."But I've got my Colorado license." As stated, "retiring" and Dee just don't seem destined to stick together. Near the party's end, Maxwell rose to say a few words to her friends, tearing up as she told them, "It seems like I've never really lived anywhere else."

Dee Maxwell, her grandson Matthew Anderson and daughter Holly Harwig enjoy celebrating Dee's retirement and career at a party this week at the East Bay Hotel.
...
"Retiring" is not a word most people would associate with Dee Maxwell.But this gifted businesswoman who arrived on the North Shore at just the right time, this too-young-to-be-a-great-gramma who loves to laugh and isn't shy about sharing her opinions, is indeed retiring as of last week.

After 22 years of selling real estate and renting vacation homes - Maxwell founded Superior Properties in 1982 - Dee has packed up, sold her Grand Marais home and is now on her way with husband Glen to a new home in Boulder, Col.To wish her well and share nearly a quarter century of shared memories, Maxwell's business associates, past and present, packed the Viking Room at the East Bay Hotel Tuesday at noon.It was a surprise retirement party and it was both a complete surprise and a celebration.

As she relived her North Shore life, Maxwell's co-workers stopped at her table and often shared "remember when?"tales.But she had the best yarns, as always.

She came up on a lark in the fall of '82, hearing that a fellow named Nordahl (Doug) needed some help selling condos on the shore.She rented a little apartment right across the road from the condos (Norwood Shores) at Clearview.In May of '83 she started Superior Properties in her living room.

"Then there were only three other real estate companies up here," Maxwell said.
...
Maxwell said, still amazed at the boom on the shore.But boom it did and quickly.

In 1985, Maxwell hired her first sales associate, Judy Motschenbacher, and soon moved into a remodeled garage beneath her apartment.
...
But the Lutsen office is now Cascade Property Sales and is owned by Steve and Kate Surbaugh, agents for Maxwell who have lived here several years.
...
But back to the stories: Maxwell says her goofiest rental story involves a renter calling a deputy to come get a bat out of their cabin."Must have been a slow crime night, because he went!"Maxwell hooted.

The weirdest place she ever wrote up a purchase agreement?
...
"I told him no keeping books," Maxwell said.