Celebrating the Life & Legacy of Faison Shaw Kuester, Jr.
Few people leave a mark as wide and as warm as Faison Kuester. For nearly eight decades he poured equal parts vision and heart into his family, his company, and his Carolinas community—quietly shaping skylines and, more important, shaping the people who live and work beneath them.
From Soldier‑Scholar to Entrepreneur
Raised in Charlotte and educated at Myers Park High School and UNC‑Chapel Hill, Faison’s leadership instincts crystalized during two tours as a First Lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, where he earned a Bronze Star. The experience honed the discipline and empathy that would become his trademarks back home.
Turning a Start‑Up into a Regional Economic Engine
In 1974—still only thirty—Faison and his father opened a small leasing and management shop on East Boulevard.
That seed grew into the Kuester Companies, a four‑brand family of firms (Development, Commercial, Management, and Metrolina Maintenance) that today manages, brokers, builds, or maintains more than 10 million square feet of real estate across the Carolinas and Georgia.
By 2000 he had relocated headquarters to Fort Mill, SC, positioning the business to become the largest HOA‑management provider in the region and creating hundreds of local jobs in the process.
Civic Stewardship & Quiet Philanthropy
Like his grandfather, a founding member of the Charlotte Chamber, Faison believed prosperity carried a duty to serve. He chaired Charlotte’s Civil Service Board, advised mayors on economic growth, and could often be spotted slipping into fundraisers unannounced—more interested in impact than spotlight.
Signature Projects that Lifted Communities
Never content with “business as usual,” Faison delighted in projects that gave towns new energy—from adaptive‑reuse conversions in Wilmington and Boone to the Golf Pride Global Innovation Campus in Pinehurst, a build‑to‑suit development that fused research, retail, and community pride under one roof.
Family at the Center
Through every acquisition and ribbon‑cutting stood his college sweetheart, Carol, and the growing clan of sons, daughters‑in‑law, and nine grandchildren who inspired his best ideas (and sabotaged his golf handicap). Weekends in Banner Elk or Litchfield were sacred, punctuated by shag dancing in the kitchen and Faison’s trademark words of encouragement delivered just when they were needed most.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
Today the Kuester name graces skylines, boardrooms, and—most powerfully—the stories told by employees, partners, and neighbors whose lives he touched. As the company and community he built continue to grow, Faison’s example remains the blueprint: lead with integrity, serve with humility, celebrate every person you meet.
Well done, good and faithful servant—your work continues in the hands and hearts you shaped.