It Happened in Crawford County: Sharon Katona loves selling houses

Mary Fox
It Happened in Crawford County
Sharon Katona is the owner of Katona Realty and was only the second female Realtor in Bucyrus.

Sharon Katona is the daughter of Carl and Bessie Sauselen, a Bucyrus family. Sharon’s sister Shirley was 10 years older and the wife of Louis Katona Sr. Sharon met Louis Jr. while visiting her sister. They married when he was home from the Navy. Because she was only 16, her family was unhappy about it. After the birth of their two children, she began working at the North Electric when she was 18. Later, she was very excited to be hired at Timken and stayed there nine years. When she left to become a real estate agent, everyone told her it was a mistake. Smiling, she handed the supervisors her business card. 

Sharon and her husband attended The Ohio State University to get Realtor’s licenseS. Louis Katona III followed suit, while in high school, to obtain his license. To obtain her broker’s license, she first had to work for and have a broker hire her. Jan Knisely of Knisely Realty, located south of the library, saw her potential and hired her. She sold a house the first day, and Scott Painter helped her write the contract. Her dream was coming true, and she began selling houses like crazy. She just loved it and does to this day.

Sharon was the second woman Realtor here, and her success was rattling the nerves of some of the local men Realtors. They told her they wished she had never become a Realtor. She continued working for Knisely 12 years. At one point she was employed by another Realtor who fired her because she was selling too many homes and not giving the guys in the office a chance! Never fired before, she went home and pouted three days, until her hubby said, “They are making sales while you are sitting at home.” That did it. She got off her behind and was determined to really sell. Sharon designed her own logo and had it trademarked. Some years ago, a broker in Michigan asked to purchase her logo for $25,000. She said, “No, I love it too much.” Almost yearly a Realtor contacts her about purchasing the logo. 

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Sharon’s husband Louie Jr. was a gunsmith and repaired guns. He used half of the building for his business. Guns were a good financial investment; it wasn’t unusual for doctors, attorneys and businessmen from Cleveland, and other places to make purchases. He frequently dealt in estate firearms that could cost the price of a home. All types of guns, including antique and modern machine guns, were displayed along the wall. A couple of older ladies came in to buy a house and saw the guns. It scared them so bad that Sharon requested Louis move the gun shop to the back half of the building.

On one occasion six men were lost and said they were looking for a nice location to purchase land for a hotel. They were only passing through Bucyrus. Sharon showed them the property north of Bob Evans and convinced them it would be an ideal location to build the Holiday Inn Express. The bypass wasn’t even built then.

Some years later the Katonas’ home burned down while Sharon was at Disney with her grandchildren. Their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Konman, pulled her hubby out of the fire. She didn’t know until she got back there wasn’t a home to go to. They stayed at the Holiday Inn for three months. It was strange to go from a house to one room. With insurance running out, they used half of their office at 410 Kaler Ave. for a home until they could finish their new home. 

Along the way, Sharon’s sister Shirley, daughter Laina, and Ruth Shumaker had joined the Katona family business. Others followed, including several of the city’s police officers. The world of real estate has changed so much. People can now buy a house less expensively than renting. A big house that rents for $1,200 a month, because of shortage of rental homes here, can be purchased with good credit. The potential buyer who has a job often can buy with no money down for less per month than rent. Sharon’s an advocate for her clients and often assists them with their financing or accompanies them to the bank to help finalize the paperwork.

The Bucyrus area has been good to Sharon. She loves the area. She even ran for mayor once. Selling houses is her "cup of tea." She often helped clients clean and decorate a home to get it sold long before “staging” was a thing. She claims that clean homes can bring as much as $5,000 to $10,000 more. She even cleans her Victorian-style home. She tries to give back to the community and support the businesses here. She has survived a lot, including the loss of her husband Louis in 2018 after 57 years of marriage. Sharon and her son Louis III are still at it, selling real estate for over 40 years.

Readers — if you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email