Neal Franklin Eichholz, 86, of Crawfordville passed away unexpectedly at his home on Dec. 1, 2023. Born in St. Augustine Florida, and grew up in New Smyrna Beach.
After attending the University of Florida, he transferred to Florida State University because the turkey hunting was better around Tallahassee. In 1962, he received his BS in Business at FSU.
He worked for Western Electric, Ford Motor Company, and Bell Telephone Company, and earned his Brokers License selling real estate. Never satisfied working in business, he decided to return to school to follow his passion for nature. In 1974, he earned his Master of Science at the University of Georgia writing his thesis on “Turkey movements, behavior, and population dynamics”.
Neal is survived by his wife and companion of 34 years Lorrie Stanford. The remaining family includes his nephew Gator Connell (Beatriz) of New Smyrna Beach, niece Cheryl Vick (Kevin) of Houston, niece Erin Anderson (Donnie) of Edgewater, and several great-nieces and nephews.
He is predeceased by his parents Harold Henry Eichholz and Irene Euphrasine (Pappy) Eichholz and his sister Carol Hart.
During his 30-year career at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, he worked in West Palm Beach, Tallahassee, and Perry and retired in 2004. Privately, he assisted his friend and mentor Lovett E. Williams, Jr. in establishing a trophy hunting program in Guatemala to conserve and protect the oscillated turkey which is threatened by commercial and subsistence hunting.
This project was partially funded by the National Wild Turkey Federation and was described in the book “The Oscillated Turkey in the Land of the Maya” published in 2010 which he co-authored.
Born with a natural gift for music, he had played guitar since he was 8 years old. During college, he played regularly with dance bands at sorority functions.
Since 2004, he played at the Wakulla County Senior Citizens Center with the Picking and Grinning Band. He played at the Seineyard at Wildwood with the “Rick Tittle Band” and more recently with the “Lost Creek Band” and “Tina and the Boys”.
He also was a talented artist who enjoyed drawing, painting, and pen and ink sketches. He documented wildlife habitats around Florida through photography and recording the sounds of nature.
A lifetime of turkey hunting, and a career in wildlife management led to his devotion to the preservation of Florida’s natural environment.
He developed multiple proposals for the purchase of land by the State of Florida to preserve it for the future. At the time of his death, he had nearly finished an extensive memoir which will be completed.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Skip & Trey Young along with Paula and Kimberly are assisting the family.