Julia Neal, owner of the Pahala Plantation House and Cottages and editor-publisher of The Ka‘u Calendar newspaper, died Friday at her Pahala cottage. She was 75.
“Everyone knew Julia for her compassion, generosity, and unwavering belief in the goodness of others,” stated a post on The Ka‘u Calendar’s web page. “Julia was the heart and soul of The Ka‘u Calendar. Her passing leaves a void that cannot be filled.
“The Ka‘u Calendar will soon cease operations. But before shutting down, The Ka‘u Calendar will publish a final issue dedicated to the memory of its founding mother, Julia.”
Born in Missouri to a military family, Neal grew up around the U.S. and in Germany and France, graduated high school in Santa Monica, Calif., and studied anthropology at UCLA.
Neal moved to Hawaii in her early 20s and became editor of The Garden Island newspaper on Kauai in the mid-1980s. Moving to Kona shortly before Hurricane Iniki devastated the Garden Isle in 1992, she worked in publishing and marketing. Later in the decade, she moved to Pahala, where she met woodworker Michael Worthington, who became her lifelong companion.
She and Worthington restored C. Brewer’s abandoned former sugar plantation manager’s home to its previous glory, at first as a leasehold property and later buying it, renaming it Pahala Plantation House and operating it as a bed-and-breakfast and community center. They later bought, moved and refurbished four duplex teacher’s cottages from the Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary School campus and integrated them into the property, as well.
Neal hosted house concerts and music workshops from Hawaiian to opera, as well as other community events, but she remained passionate about news, leading her to establish The Ka‘u Calendar in 2002 and the online Ka‘u News Briefs in 2010.
William Neal, a nephew, described his aunt as “one of the most selfless and hardest-working people around.”
“Everyday she would wake up to give the world news on Ka‘u through her daily blog (Ka‘u News Briefs, also on Facebook) rain or shine,” William Neal said. “From high school football games, to volcanic eruptions, she covered life in Ka‘u and on the island, touching every aspect of life.
“She was a fierce advocate for local life, Hawaiian heritage, and the preservation of Ka‘u’s colorful history and environment.”
Sharon Beck, Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary principal, called Julia Neal “an invaluable asset to our community.”
“She was at basketball games. She supported our school — and not just in school but beyond the school walls,” Beck said. “She was at not just every school event but every community event.
“She was always around town, everywhere.”
Author Tom Peek of Volcano said Neal attended the Independent Book Publishers’ Association Benjamin Franklin Awards ceremony at Times Square when Peek was honored for his 2012 novel, “Daughters of Fire.”
“She offered to attend after receiving my publisher’s press release about the award because Julia was going to be in New York City at the time,” Peek recalled. “‘I’ll be your personal reporter,’ she said. So my publisher obtained a ticket for her, and she sat at the table with me that night.”
“This is a major loss for Ka‘u and for all of us who knew and appreciated Julia,” Peek added. “The upcoming closure of her Ka‘u newspaper only compounds that loss — for the community and for everyone who, like me, looked forward to catching up on Ka‘u news every month by reading her superb newspaper.”
Survivors include Worthington, a brother, Forest Neal II, and nephews, Forest Neal III, Michael Neal and William Neal.
“We’ve yet to make final arrangements, but our intention is for her to be laid to rest in or near Pahala,” William Neal said. “We are arranging a celebration of life reception for the community to be held in Pahala at one of her iconic restored plantation cottages.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
