LANTANA — Robert “Bob” Long might have known a lot about real estate and what it took to sell a luxurious home, but the legacy he left behind to those who knew him wasn’t just that he was a fantastic Realtor.
Mr. Long’s legacy was that he was a good man.
After battling an illness, Mr. Long died on March 8. He was 56.
Besides being a father of four and a husband of almost 17 years, Mr. Long had an outstanding reputation in Palm Beach County as a Realtor.
He sold more properties on Hypoluxo Island and Manalapan than any other real estate company in more than 20 years, according to his wife, Susan.
What made him so good at his job was that he was, simply, nice.
Ask anyone, his friends have said, and they’ll tell you the same thing.
When people pass away, one of the most common things loved ones say is that the person never said a harsh word about anyone — and sure, sometimes you might wonder if that’s really true. But in Bob Long’s case, it was true.
And that’s why people loved him.
“You were completely comfortable with him,” said longtime friend and co-worker Diane Duffy of Lantana. “He took time with people. He listened. He always made you feel you were the most important thing happening in that moment.”
Mr. Long owned Palermo-Long Realty on Ocean Avenue in Lantana and if you were a client of Mr. Long’s, you knew you were taken care of. They came to rely on him, his wife said, and word of mouth spread quickly of Mr. Long’s reliability and dedication.
Duffy remembered meeting Mr. Long for the first time when she was trying to find a company to work for. Back then, she was a new agent and had many doors slammed in her face. But when she met Mr. Long, his door was wide open.
“You could tell he was busy, but he sat with me for an hour,” Duffy said. “He was so inviting and he put me at ease.”
The two became friends and worked together for 11 years.
Originally from Ohio, Mr. Long moved to Lantana when he was a teenager with his family as they pursued their love of water skiing, something Mr. Long took a liking to as well. But what he loved even more was boat driving. And for a few years, Mr. Long spent his weeks selling real estate and the weekends were dedicated to driving boats in professional water ski tournaments. He traveled to places like France, California and Texas.
In Palm Beach County, he spent time on his boat, named the Suzabel (a combination of his wife’s name and his daughter, Isabel). Sometimes he would surprise his staff and tell them they were spending the day on the boat and, over sandwiches and cocktails, they would take pictures of waterfront homes and jokingly say they were “working.”
Longtime friend and business associate Bob Sorgini of Lake Worth spoke at Mr. Long’s funeral and described him as a generous, kind soul. During the string of hurricanes a few years ago, Sorgini said Mr. Long delivered plywood to people on the island and even helped his priest board up his home.
His wife laughed when she recalled this as well, because she said their house always seemed to be the last house prepared for a storm.
“He was so busy putting up shutters for others that we didn’t have shutters up,” Susan Long said. “That was so him, very unselfish.”
“He approached his life, his business and everything with the upmost integrity,” she added. “He was just good beyond belief.”
Mr. Long’s family asks that memorial contributions be made to Gulf Stream School, 3600 Gulf Stream Road, Gulf Stream, FL 33483; Unity of Delray Beach, 101 NW 22nd St., Delray Beach, FL 33444; or the American Water Ski Educational Foundation, 1251 Holy Cow Road, Polk City, FL 33868.
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