80-year-old Realtor not ready to retire

By Staff | Aug 26, 2015

MEL TOADVINE Donna Cavender talks to a client about a property to be listed.

Donna Cavender of Lehigh Acres fits into the results of a survey of American workers from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, which found that 82 percent of the respondents age 60 and older either are, or expect to keep working past the age of 65.

Cavender turned 80 in July and is now the owner of Marigold Realty at 1150 Lee Blvd., Suite B in Lehigh.

“I’ve been in the real estate business for several years and I see no reason to quit working and sit home as long as my health holds out,” she said.

According to the national survey, among all workers, regardless of age, some 20 percent expect to keep on working as long as possible in their current position or a similar one.

That report came from a story in USA Today where Catherine Collinson, president of the retirement studies center, said; “The days of the gold-watch retirement where we have an office party and maybe some punch and cookies and never work again are more mythical than a reality.

Donna Cavender

“Very few workers actually envision that type of retirement and many plan to keep on working part-time even after they retire.”

Cavender’s decision to take over the ownership of Marigold Realty came after the death last January of owner Norman Session. She is a Realtor and handles several rental properties in Lehigh. And many see her also as an adviser, a term she accepts modestly.

“Just a few weeks ago, I was talking with a family who wanted to buy a newer home, a larger house because of the children, but when we sat down and talked, I recommended they add on a room to the house and build an outside patio,” Cavender said. “The family would not be in the debt they were facing and now they are happy and so are the children.”

It’s advice like this that people have come to appreciate from Cavender, who at 80, looks many years younger.

She has been widowed for 17 years and says she cannot sit home with nothing to do because she has always like to keep busy.

“And financially, it is a big help when you have reached this age in your life,” she said.

Cavender is a big believer of folks who have past the so-called retirement age of 65 to continue working and being active.

“I think it helps to keep you young. And besides those people who continue to work have the experience needed to continue on successfully in a career.”

But Cavender has had health issues to endure, but she did and never missed time from her job at Marigold where she was the office manager, in addition to being a Realtor and rental agent.

She is a cancer survivor and even though the colon cancer she had has gone, she still undergoes medical checkups and medications to keep the cancer from returning.

“It was something to go through,” she remembered. “They told me I had Stage 3 colon cancer and they began to treat me immediately. I battled cancer for four years and received chemo and radiation treatment.

“The saddest day was when I say my hair fall out on the shower floor. But I bought a wig and kept on going,” she said.

Cavender credits some of the adage from her father from more than a half century ago.

“I grew up on a farm and there always chores to do, even as a child. And my father would always say, ‘I would rather wear out than rust out,’ and ‘A busy mind is a healthy mind,'” she said.

Cavender said when she first started working for Marigold Realty, it was owned by Paul Dinger who today is still in the real estate business in Fort Myers. She recalls that she began working with Dinger in 2000. As the owner of Marigold, she has a broker and another Realtor who sells from her office.

“I love this kind of work. I enjoy talking to and helping people. I become attached to my clients, often helping to solve some of their problems if they ask me.

Jim Ciano id the other Realtor in the office and he is in and out, really as a part-time real estate agent and writer,” Cavender said.

Office hours for Marigold Realty are from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. She can be reached by calling the office at 239-368-3200 of afterhours at 239-369-4890.

Cavender says she has a waiting list of people who are looking for good rentals. She said she is very selective in the homes she handles as rentals, as much so as with those who want to rent.

“I’m just very picky with choosing homes I want to rent out. I don’t’ rent out junk,” she said proudly.

Looking at the overall picture of Lehigh housing, Cavender said she recalls the bad times of the recession and realizes that home prices are slowly rising, but she says Lehigh property values are rising as fast as in some other areas of the county.

“We do have fewer homes now that are sitting idle or abandoned,” she said, recalling the vast amount of houses that were empty when homeowners lost them back in 2007 and 2008.

“But I see good things for Lehigh ahead. I know we need more industry as close to Lehigh as we can get. As for incorporation, I don’t think folks here will do it; Lehigh may become part of Fort Myers eventually.

“You know as we grow older, we may have more aches and pains, but what you have to do is pull up your boot straps and go on.

“Ad with the help of God, you can go on.”

She’s not sure retirement is a word in her vocabulary.

“I plan to work and do my best. I’m going to work until I can no longer work.”

I am very lucky to be able to carry on. I keep up with the new technology in the office and I keep my eye on the real estate market.

“If there are folks who need a good rental agent to rent their home, I can do that for them and they will be satisfied.

“I love this work and it keeps me going. And I am not stopping yet,” she laughed.

“The years have gone by fast. My husband passed away 17 years ago. We did not have children. I take care of myself and thanks to God, I am able to continue to operate this business. I enjoy it and if you enjoy what you are doing, you may not want to quit work or retire and have nothing to do. That causes a lot of people to age faster,” she said.

: Donna Cavender