Don H. Kilgore Realtors has built a reputation on decades of service and trust.

For the Kilgore family, real estate is more than a family business; it’s a family tradition that’s been carried on for over 60 years.

“My father and grandfather were in real estate but not brokers,” says Don Kilgore of Don Kilgore Realtors and Kilgore Realty Company.

The Kilgores have been in this area for nearly 200 years, migrating from South Carolina to Georgia in the 1850s before settling in Alabama, where they farmed and worked timber. Don’s grandfather, John Kilgore, was in the mule/livestock business and dabbled in real estate with Don’s father, Neil. In 1958, they joined with other family members and formed Kilgore Realty Company, Inc.

After graduating from Walker High School and Walker College, Don majored in business administration at Samford University. When he graduated college in 1966, he went to work with his father and grandfather in real estate and has been in the business ever since. “I got my broker's license. You didn't have to have an appraisal license then, but I got it later,” he explains.

Kilgore Realty Company, Inc., of which Don serves as President, has various commercial properties in Jasper and Walker County, including Parkland Shopping Center, Parkland Plaza, Eastside and Westside Plaza, the old Cobb Theatre property, and other commercial properties along Highway 118.

Don Kilgore Realtors, founded in 1966, is located on Oak Hill Road and assists individuals with buying and selling homes, real estate appraisals, deeds, assessing property, etc.

“We do a fair amount of estate work,” Don says, adding that sometimes there is confusion among family members regarding the beneficiaries of an inheritance. In such cases, they must adhere to what is legally documented on paper.

“When somebody passes away, it’s not what Daddy or Mama told you—it’s what's in writing,” he explains.

Don’s son, David, is helping to carry on the family tradition as well. A 1992 Walker High graduate, David attended the University of South Alabama on a basketball scholarship before playing at Bevill State Community College in Fayette. In the early 2000s, he began fishing as a co-angler in the BASS Southern Open. He’s esHfished the Bassmaster Classic twice, qualified for the Elite Series three times, and won two Southern Opens. He’s participated in 68 tournaments total and still competes in the Bassmaster Opens.

“The goal is to get back to the Classic, but you have to win one to get there. I've been fortunate enough to do it twice,” David says.

David earned his real estate license in 1993 and his appraiser’s license in 1995.

Both emphasize that the many facets to real estate can make it complicated. Fortunately, their extensive experience in the business helps simplify matters.

“All the different fingers of real estate…you don’t learn that doing it three or four years,” David says. “It takes a long time to get a grasp and you still learn every day. We've been in it a long time. We keep up with the market as good as anyone due to our extensive appraisal knowledge.”

Father and son work as a team, with Don as broker and David as an agent. The businesses operate with a minimal staff, which is by design.

“I have no one else to answer to,” David jokes.

Working with one other is one of the greatest rewards of the agency. And though Don has no plans to retire soon, he knows who is getting the keys to the kingdom when that day finally arrives. “It’s been very rewarding having my son to take over one day,” Don says. “He's fully capable of doing everything now; he can do anything I can do.”

“I enjoy working with Dad,” adds David. “It’s just he and I making decisions and we’re on our own time schedule. I just like having the boss 10 feet down the hall from me.”78