We hope our Romance feature will trigger memories of first kiss butterflies, wedding day jitters and the long walk together through life that comes with raising a family, facing life’s challenges together and growing old side by side. When it’s true, when you know you’re where your heart needs to be, love truly is the grandest of things and worth every second of the ride.
We’ve tapped a few local friends and colleagues to tell us their love stories and what it is about their commitment that works. We know you’ll love getting to know them just as much as we did.
Dr. Kaete Archer, MD and Dr. Mourad Abouelleil
Kaete Archer, MD, is a facial plastic surgeon specializing in cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures of the face, neck and nose and facial skin cancer reconstruction. Her practice at Archer Facial Plastic Surgery is a luxury destination for facial wellness and rejuvenation emphasizing innovation, compassion and dedication.
As for how she met her partner, Mourad Abouelleil, a robotic-trained urologist, she said, “We were both training at SUNY Upstate Medical University in our 4th year of residency. We’d known each other from classes and meetings, but only as acquaintances.” Finally, Mourad asked Kaete to join him at an annual Syracuse, New York celebration at a local Irish pub with a group of friends.
Fast forward only a few years, and they now live in Viera. Dr. Archer adds, “Viera is a great location for us to live. I work in Melbourne and Mourad works in Rockledge. Work brought us here – great job opportunities and a growing economy. It was a dream for us to live in a warm area by the beach, and a wonderful
area to raise a family.” She continued, “We love walking to the Avenue, eating at Bonefish Grill, and seeing a movie on a Friday night. We also love going to the zoo right around the corner on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Every so often we will grab coffee from Panera and head to the beach to watch the sunrise.” Dr. Archer’s family still lives in northwest Arkansas where they raise beef cattle and free-range chickens.
Dr. Archer enjoys yoga, healthy living and being involved in her community. Not only does Brevard County afford Dr. Archer the opportunity to bring out the most confidence and beauty in her patients, but she also works with military servicemen and servicewomen through the VA, volunteers with the Brevard Health Alliance, and supports all of the local shelters and organizations that are fighting against domestic violence in our communities.
Anita and Mayor William Capote
William and Anita Capote were first introduced to each other by a mutual friend in a nightclub in New York City in December 1987. William was 25 and Anita 24. Their paths had crossed many times in the past, but this particular time they were finally introduced. They stayed in touch by phone, calling each other regularly. Finally, their first date on Valentine’s Day 1988 was to see a scary movie, Phantasm II. Scary movies continue to be their love to this day.
William and Anita dated for almost two years until he asked her to marry him over Christmas of 1989. Their wedding ceremony was held on Memorial Day weekend (May 26th) the following year.
Their first son, Guillermo (25), was born in 1991; their second, Gabriel (23), in 1993. After the birth of their second son, William, tired of shoveling snow, started thinking of a better place to raise their kids. The Orlando area became a target destination after a high school friend moved to Florida two years earlier. William came to visit his friend during the spring of 1994, and during a visit to another friend in Palm Bay, his dream of living in warm weather gelled. He went back to New Jersey and told Anita that he had found the perfect place to raise their boys.
The big move to Palm Bay happened in the fall of 1994, and after 22 years here, they are still happy Floridians.
William and Anita still like going out to dinner and a movie for their anni- versary celebrations. In addition, they enjoy staying home to watch their favorite TV shows such as Law & Order SVU, Power, Game of Thrones, Westworld, Veep, and of course… The Walking Dead.
Marsha and Summit Shah
Summit and Marsha Shah met during their freshman orientation weekend at Tulane University in New Orleans in 1994. Summit was 18 years old, Marsha was 17. On their way to a river boat cruise, Summit decided to introduce himself. Interestingly, while Marsha remembers this distinctly, Summit doesn’t remember it at all!
Marsha says, “We had a lot of mutual friends and became good friends ourselves during our sophomore year at Tulane. He invited me to his fraternity’s (Kappa Sigma) winter semi-formal, which was our first official date.” New Orleans was the backdrop to their relationship, and typical dates were late night beignets at Café Du Monde and amazing dinners at New Orleans restaurants. Marsha says, “we tried to hit every restaurant before we graduated, but we did not succeed!” There were also concerts at JazzFest, and Mardi Gras Balls, a great way to start a relationship.
After graduation in 1998, Marsha moved back to Houston (her hometown) and Summit came home to Satellite Beach to join the family business, Southeast Petro. They kept a long-distance relationship for 6 years before getting married and moving to Suntree in 2004.
Summit and Marsha now have 2 children, Kayden, 10 and Naya, age 7 and live in Viera’s Summer Lakes community.
Marsha adds, “We still like trying new restaurants and prefer local, family- owned establishments. Our favorite restaurants lately are Tequila Azul and Amici’s in Suntree.
Valerie and Scott Miller
Scott and Valerie Miller moved to Brevard during college, over 28 years ago, to escape the Orlando traffic and get closer to the water. They have called Melbourne Beach home for 22 years. They’ve known each other since grade school, but Scott’s family moved to Virginia and they lost touch for a few years. Valerie’s sister, Donna, recognized Scott’s brother, Brett, on the UCF campus and the four became inseparable friends. “We would do everything together – go to the beach, dinner, to parties, and travelling.” Scott says. It was during a friend’s party that Scott and Valerie both realized they wanted to be more than friends.
Scott adds, “Valerie and I actually went to grade school together at St. Luke’s in Oviedo. Back then, Valerie had a crush on my younger brother, Brett. Our first date was years later in college at UCF, and we went to a movie. April will be our 27th wedding anniversary, but Val always adds in our dating years too, so it’ll be 31 years together.”
Valerie grew up in Oviedo, but spent many summers on the Duda’s Cocoa ranch (now Viera). She remembers, as a kid, going to Poor Richard’s in Melbourne Beach with her family for special occasions. “We used to come over to Indialantic to hang out on the beach during college. So, when it was time to consider where we would like to raise our family, it seemed natural to head beachside.” Valerie says (they have three daughters aged 13 to 23).
She continued, “We have a few favorite places around town. We love the smoothies from Sassy Granny’s, the fish tacos from Indialantic Seafood, buying fishing gear from Harry Goode’s, and heading to the Café Coconut Cove for a special German meal. Sometimes you’ll find us at La Crepe or upstairs on the deck at the Mansion, across from downtown Melbourne. We get reminiscent at The Mansion, as we were married there (back when it was the Strawberry Mansion) in 1990.”
