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Sweetheart of Summerplace
She runs a tight ship at apartment complex and keeps her residents' welfare at heart

By Lauren Howard
DAILY Staff Writer

Photo: DAILY Photos by Dan Henry
Linda Stonewall, who was a nurse in Birmingham for 16 years before moving to Decatur, refers to the 192 residents at Summerplace as her "babies."

The steady ring of the telephone wanes into monotony as a stream of residents circulate through the office.

Linda Stonewall is pacifying a woman demanding her daughter's apartment number.

"I don't doubt that you're her mother. You've got it written all over your face," says the property manager, calming the woman as she defines the privacy policy.

She soon emerges from the Summerplace Apartments' office to pause from managing the low-budget housing complex.

"They used to look at me strange," she explains, though now she hears "Hey, Miss Linda!"

But the 56-year-old hasn't really taken a break from her work since moving from Birmingham to "baby-sit" the Southwest Decatur property five years ago.

"You don't try to juggle it; you let God juggle it. That covers everything for me," Stonewall explained.

She's answering the call of duty. Her day job is handling service requests of 192 occupants. Her life work is nurturing them all.

"I don't love people because of who they are; I love people because of who I am," she said. "I love God, so I love people. If they can see God in me, then it's worth it."

Although she's had to evict women with small children for not paying their rent, settled disputes between neighbors and dealt with break-ins, her empathy shines through.

Picking up litter after hours, handling concerns of residents who've spotted her relaxing on her porch, cutting a vacation short to sit with a resident on her deathbed — Stonewall thought it was selfish to consider her own needs.

That is, until the divorced mother of two realized her passion depends on personal time for refueling. The nurse by trade had burned out after 16 years in a profession she had loved, and she wasn't going to let it happen again.

Last week she moved from the property to Old Decatur.

'Pay it forward'

Lurlene Fuller is one of the longtime elderly residents whose yearning for companionship outweighs physical needs.

Stonewall consoles Fuller, still grieving after her husband's death, by grasping her hand.

"I don't want to sound like I'm somebody special," Stonewall said in Fuller's living room, where several residents eagerly offered examples of the manager's kindness. "I don't want to be singled out as an exception to the community."

Neighbors Chandra Coleman, Margaret Heard and Darlene Slaughter agree that the Southwest Decatur complex is a tightly knit community — woven by Stonewall. Picking up residents' medication, helping out with gas money or holding the hand of a grieving resident has encouraged support among the residents.

"You mention something, and she'll step right in. And she always follows up. ... She's tough on a good living environment," resident Darlene Slaughter said. "It makes you proud to live here."

She sends newsletters to inform residents of the latest arrivals, organized before- and after- school supervision at the resource center and established a school transportation program.

Shortly after her arrival, Stonewall polled every household to determine how much school the children were missing. The responses prompted her to request assistance from the complex's Montgomery-based property owner, Summit Asset Management.

The owner now funds transportation to Brookhaven Middle and Decatur High schools. The city's Youth Services and Decatur City Schools provide a bus to Francis Nungester Elementary. Morgan County Area Transportation System operates the buses.

For the parents who work before and after school, SummerPlace volunteers take shifts to watch the children.

"What she does makes you want to pass it on," Heard said.

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