January 11, 1983 – May 29, 2024
NEFAR was shocked and saddened to learn of the death of 41-year-old Caleb Gottberg, a rising star in the Northeast Florida real estate industry. After experiencing chest pains while in the classroom as a teacher at Wolfson High School, Caleb passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 29 of a heart attack.
Caleb had two passions – education and real estate. A native of Jacksonville, he attended the University of North Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Real Estate and a Master of Business Administration in Human Resource Management.
He began his professional career as an educator in the Duval County Public Schools serving as a math teacher, career academy/business educator, school administrator and school principal. In 2020, he earned his real estate license and went to work for Tara Pitts Hubbard at Radiant Realty in Jacksonville Beach. Within his first four years Caleb earned several designations including Military Relocation Professional (MRP), e-PRO, Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), Seller Representative Specialist (SRS), Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR), Real Estate Investing (REI), Certified Exclusive Buyers Agent (CEBA) and Certified Real Estate Negotiator (CREN).
“The world is a lot less bright without Caleb in it,” said Tara Hubbard. “The name of my realty is Radiant Realty, and that’s what I am about, being light in a dark world. Caleb got it from Day 1 when I sat down and met with him. He’s one of us, he’s light. He lived a radiant life.
“I’ve been dealing in real estate for 16 years, and he was part of my brokerage for four years,” she continued. “This year went out on his own and opened up a property management company,” she said.
Tara also recalled that he worked simultaneously as a full-time teacher at Wolfson High School and ran the school’s VyStar Finance Department. “He was so compassionate with people. He was a people person. He had compassion in everything he did, and he was so smart and driven. I can’t express to you enough how much he generally cared about people,” she said.
“His goal in life was to pay off his house and also to get out of teaching,” she continued. “He was a principal for years and when he got his real estate license and worked for me, he had stepped down from being a principal and went back into the classroom as a teacher to allow more time for real estate. He excelled in the business and wanted to do bigger things. He got his broker’s license and went out on his own a year later. He opened a property management company and was really starting to get that off the ground this year. He had two agents working for him. He was so knowledgeable in finance, and this gave him a creative edge to get things done,” Tara said.
Upon attaining his broker’s license, Caleb opened CG Realty & Property Management LLC in Riverside. “He was always willing to help anybody and everybody. Even if someone did not work for Radiant Realty, he didn’t care. He was still your friend and part of your real estate circle and such a teacher and helper. I went through my text messages the other day and a lot of them were him telling me, ‘Hey you need to get this designation, it’s free.’ He was keeping my education in check.”
Never married, Caleb is survived by his parents, Eric and Alice, his older brother Jeremy (Danielle) his twin brother Simon, who is retired from the military, and his wife Ashley, a former REALTOR and NEFAR member. He also loved his nieces and nephews.
