If you’re looking for a real estate agent to buy or sell a home in the Valley, consider Cari Dandy of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty in Scottsdale. Taking liberty with an idiom that was popularized in the Southwest, Cari is “All hat and plenty of cattle.” The lithe, blonde convert to Judaism has an enviable record. Since 2005, Cari has been among the top 10% of real estate agents in the Valley, as measured by sales volume. The North Scottsdale resident attributes her success to a passion for the job, the ability to work with all types of clients, long hours – sometimes 60-70 a week – and using the latest technologies to help market properties.
Judaism has also played a role in her accomplishments. “I love that the Jewish religion stresses the importance of family and the caring and concern people have for each other,” she explains. “In many respects, clients are an extension of my family, and I want to make certain that when a transaction is completed, they feel good about me and the outcome.” Ironically, the least favorite part of her job is when a deal is concluded. “I truly miss seeing my clients,” she says, comparing it to the last day of high school before summer vacation, when she would no longer see her friends on a daily basis. To help fill that void, Cari and her husband, Ron Feigen, frequently socialize with the people she helped buy or sell a home, and many have become friends for life.
Ron grew up in the Chicago suburb of Skokie as the son of Harry and Lillian Feigen, who met in a concentration camp. He works out of the couple’s North Scottsdale home, serving as director of information security for Oracle, the multinational computer technology corporation based in California. So why the different last names? Quite simply, Cari met and married a man with the last name of Dandy soon after coming to the Valley in 1983. She used that name in several advertising businesses and decided to keep it, even after divorcing and later marrying Ron in 1995. After all, everyone knew her by the name Dandy. Moreover, it’s an unforgettable surname that describes her to a T.
Cari converted in 1993. “I grew to adore Ron’s parents, and it was important to them that Ron had a Jewish wife,” she explains. “Just as important, after some studying, I fell in love with the Jewish religion. I don’t know of any other faith that is so rich in history and tradition.
Cari was raised Methodist in Newton, KS, where her father, John Cavassa, sold farm machinery for some 40 years. He and Cari’s mother, Marilyn, still reside in the town of about 20,000 about 25 miles north of Wichita. Even though Newton could be described as a small, insular community, neither parent blinked an eye when Cari told them about her plans to convert. “They’re both very open-minded and don’t judge anyone or any religion or race. What’s more, whatever makes me happy makes them happy,” she says.
Although Cari and Ron don’t belong to a synagogue, they attend High Holiday services at Temple Kol Ami in Scottsdale. One thing Cari has come to enjoy is Jewish cooking. She claims
to make a mean mushroom barley soup, and a few years ago hosted a Hanukkah party that taught her a lesson: figure out how much food you need and then double it. “I ordered a lot of fish – smoked, white, salmon and lox – but it didn’t turn out to be enough,” she laughs. “Next time I’ll know better.”
Barry Cohen is a freelance writer who moved to Arizona 20 years ago from Chicago, where he was born and raised. Barry has worked in senior corporate communications for several international pharmaceutical companies, including Abbott Laboratories. One of his fondest dreams is to see the Cubs win the World Series in his lifetime.
