The Art of Leaving: The Draw of Her Grandkids Is Too Strong for Merkle Team Member to Resist
Lois "Lee" Neuman painted a holiday scene in the window of the Hugh Merkle office every year.
Retirement, in the world of Lois “Lee” Neuman, presents a brand-new canvas.
Life’s next phase beckons this artist and bookkeeper at the Hugh Merkle real-estate company. The Philadelphia native and longtime area resident recently moved to Jacksonville, N.C., to be closer to six of her grandchildren.
Neuman’s imprint at the company will be both emotional, in terms of relationships forged, and physical, regarding her avocation: Her painting of a Stone Harbor sunset on 122nd Street, measuring 5 feet high by 4 feet wide, is displayed prominently for patrons entering the Merkle Team office in Stone Harbor.
What Neuman paints next might be different in North Carolina than the landscapes she has worked on here. But the principal effect, the joy of the journey, remains.
“Something special happens when I paint,” Neuman says. “It is similar to how you feel better after you meditate or pray. It’s the process. This was always a hobby and I enjoyed doing it on the side, but recently I have gotten back into it again. I will paint, whether it’s the ocean, the marshes, or something different.
“This is completely opposite from having a work life. I still have to remind myself that I don’t have to go to work now.”
Neuman had a whirlwind final week of October. After an emotional farewell gathering with the Merkle Team at the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor, she headed south. A couple of days later, she already enjoyed her first football Saturday in North Carolina. Four of the grandchildren had games and she was there to root for them.
She is freed from a reality that had been difficult for several years while she lived alone in New Jersey: saying goodbye to the grandchildren after a vacation.
It helped that her dog, Alfie, became a companion in the process, and he’s with her now in North Carolina, but there was nothing like a large family presence.
While here, Neuman viewed painting as a stark contrast from the rigors of a job.
Her artistic prowess evolved gradually, stemming from a teacher who encouraged her early work, to community-college classes, and a group of area artists that formed an unofficial club that meets regularly.
Eventually, Neuman developed her own style and sense of improvisation, whether that meant mixing and matching colors, observing a fresh perspective, or connecting emotionally to a finished product.
Neuman’s office painting underscores her off-the-job talent. On the job, her skills involved deadlines, numbers and people, especially this year.
COVID-19 threw a monkey wrench into the entire business. Neuman was the contact person for customers with varied concerns, almost all of them large.
“Nobody knew what was going to happen about when we were going to open up, etc.,” she says. “Everybody was fearful. People had paid a lot of money to come down and they didn’t know if they were going to get their money back if they could not come. There were tenants from Canada who would have been allowed to leave there to come here, but then they would not be able to get back home because flights were being canceled. We had people who were in retirement communities and not allowed to leave.
“There were numerous circumstances, all of them individual. We had to handle them that way. We don’t make the decisions. We act as a liaison between the owners and the clients. It was a very stressful time.”
One that would not fit comfortably in a Norman Rockwell painting. Neuman dealt with the situation amicably and effectively, reflecting her tenure at the company, according to owner Hugh Merkle.
“Lee is not only a great artist, but she is a real, genuine, down to earth great person,” he says. “You get the feeling almost immediately that she is part of your family. She goes out of her way for other people.
“We will miss her. Lee has not only taken care of all the bookkeeping for most of the last 16 years, but she always came to work with a smile and worked hard.”
Merkle’s wife Lynn, who runs the office, mirrors the sentiment.
“Lee cares about people,” Lynn says. “She goes out of her way to make people smile. Lee has a strong relationship with rental owners and guests. She worked so hard to get people the weeks they wanted and the properties they wanted. Lee worked overtime. She found the places that were perfect for people’s vacations and she was in the office to help them if they had any problems. On Saturdays, during check-ins, she was there.
“We are sad to see her go, but we understand how difficult it was for her to keep coming back here from North Carolina after she had visited her grandchildren.”
While Neuman embraces the family reunion, her area departure was not easy.
“I have been here such a long time that I am a different person now from when I started,” she says. “Through all the ups and downs of my life, there’s been a positive change regarding my personality, how I handle stress, everything.
“I am much more self-confident, much more able to overcome difficult things. When the stress of the job is too hard, you have to face it and figure it out. What I love about the Merkle Team is that they always had my back. Whatever happened, they were behind me. We all worked together so well. It is not easy to leave them.”
But there’s another life chapter ahead. Another blank canvas. Another painting in waiting.
