R.C. Plumlee, 75, helped create Woodruff Park

R.C. Plumlee’s real estate career left an indelible imprint on Atlanta, but one transaction stood out as his favorite.

In 1971, he helped negotiate the sale of several downtown properties that eventually became Woodruff Park, a six-acre urban respite north of Edgewood Avenue, said Beverly Cameron Gradick Plumlee, his wife of 52 years.

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R.C. Plumlee was senior vice president at Adair Realty before starting his own firm.

“It was a block of different owners, a very complicated and tedious project,” she said. “And he loved it. The harder the project, the better and more attuned he was. While this project was being done, no one knew that it was for a park.”

Richard Carl “Took” Plumlee, 75, of Macon and formerly of Atlanta, died Saturday of lung cancer at his home. Visitation will be 3 p.m. Wednesday at Hart’s Mortuary and Crematory at the Cupola in Macon, which is in charge of arrangements. A graveside service will be held at All Soul’s Parish Catholic Cemetery in Sanford, Fla., at a later date.

Mr. Plumlee was born in Louisiana, but lived in other states because of his father’s job in the paper mill industry. He graduated from Lanier High School in Macon in 1949 and from Georgia Tech in 1954. He took a job with a felt company that required travel, something he abhorred.

“He wanted to be at home, so it was either insurance or real estate,” his wife said. “He chose real estate. He was still doing it by telephone when we moved to Macon 10 years ago to retire. He thought real estate was fascinating, and he loved the challenge.”

Mr. Plumlee’s real estate career spanned nearly four decades. He started with Adair Realty in Atlanta, where he became senior vice president and a manager in the investment department. In 1971, he started Plumlee Realty, where he specialized in downtown properties.

He was a three-time recipient of the Alvin B. Cates Award, given by the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors for completing the most outstanding transaction of the year. He played a role in downtown revitalization efforts such as International Boulevard.

“He had a professionalism and a habit of doing everything the right way,” said John Maddox Sr., a partner at Atlanta real estate firm Cummings, Horsley and Maddox Inc. “If he told you the sun was coming up in the West, you could believe it. Just a pleasant guy.”

Additional survivors include a daughter, Leslie Plumlee Davis of Atlanta; his mother, Mattie Reed Plumlee, and a sister, Sylvia Kolb, both of Clearwater, Fla.