Kissing at Kissing Tree

When Steve Curl came down from Dallas to visit some good friends who live at Kissing Tree, he never expected to fall in love, but fate had other plans. A chance meeting with Tina Lilly in Independence Hall led to a proposal in Hawaii and a wedding in Gruene. And the rest, as they say, is smoochos gracias!

Coming to Kissing Tree

In late 2020, Steve Curl’s wife of 32 years passed away the same month that his life-long friends Angelo and Joanie Amoriello bought a home at Kissing Tree. As Steve adjusted, Angelo and Joanie invited him down from Dallas for a visit. “We had been friends for 40-plus years, and they asked me to come see them for a month or so,” Steve said. “They wanted to nurture me, but I wasn’t ready.”

A chance meeting

In 2021, Steve finally came for his first visit, and Angelo and Joanie were excited to take him to local wineries and the Alamo. Soon, Steve was coming for a week each month. “They were really helpful in getting me over and through what I was going through,” Steve said. On a visit in June, Angelo and Steve found themselves having a beer at Independence Hall after a round of golf. “We were getting ready to leave, and Angelo says, ‘Wait a minute, I’ve got one more person I want to introduce you to,’” Steve said. “And there was Tina, sitting with her now daughter-in-law.”

Falling in love (with the Clarkson)

Tina had bought her Clarkson home (with the casita and the pool!) at Kissing Tree in 2019. “I saw Kissing Tree and I fell in love,” Tina said. “I wanted to move into the model the day I saw it!” Tina’s husband had passed away in 2016, so she had had more time to adjust to being single again. With a son in Dallas and one in San Antonio, Kissing Tree provided the perfect mix of activities in an ideal location between her boys. Tina moved her parents into an assisted living facility in San Marcos so they would be close by as well. 

Missed connections…

After meeting Steve on that fateful day in June, Tina couldn’t get him out of her head. She asked Angelo and Joanie for his number, and when planning a trip to visit her son in Dallas, she called to ask Steve to dinner. He was game, but the timing didn’t work out. “We kept texting and we chatted a bit, but she was out of town when I came back to Kissing Tree or I was out of town when she was in Dallas,” Steve said. “One time, she was doing Thanksgiving with her kids, and I didn’t want to interfere with that.” 

First date at The Mix

Fast-forward to 6.5 months later, on New Year’s Eve, Steve and Tina met up again at The Mix during the day, and went on their first date to the New Year’s Eve party that night.”We hit it off, and we’ve never been separated since then,” Steve said. “I virtually abandoned my house in Dallas.”  

Just 45 days into their love affair, Steve proposed on the beach in Kona, Hawaii, and Tina said yes. Steve sold his house in Dallas, and the two were married in October of 2022 at the Chapel at Gruene, surrounded by friends and family. “Half our guests were family and the other half were from Kissing Tree,” Tina says. 

Thanks, Cupid!

Steve credits divine intervention for bringing them together. “Angelo and Joanie knew my wife and I for many years; it’s very ironic that they would be the ones to introduce Tina and me,” Steve says. “That’s how our whole relationship has been from the get-go. We’ve been through two prior successful marriages – we know what we want, and we don’t apologize. We have less time left than people in their 20s and 30s, and that makes a big difference in our perspectives and priorities.”

Family time

Together, Steve and Tina have 5 sons and 5 grandkids who they love spending time with. “They don’t want to talk to me – they all say ‘Put Tina on the phone,’” Steve says. The couple had their granddaughters from Dallas down this summer for a full schedule of activities that included Wonderworld Park, a petting zoo, a tour of the Alamo, and, for the oldest, a tour of Steve’s alma mater, Texas A&M University. 

Let the good times roll

On a typical day, Steve and Tina do everything together. “We just got back from daily yoga; yesterday we went golfing,” Tina says. “We play some pickleball and we do some walking around in the neighborhood. Our favorite thing is going to Tarbox & Brown. We love the Prime Rib night, and we’re going there for Valentine’s Day. We went to the Thanksgiving buffet – it was fantastic!” 

Still technically newlyweds, Steve and Tina are known to put the kissing in Kissing Tree.” One of our closest friends up the street says, ‘I know what y’all have been up to!’ so I coined the term Smoochos Gracias,” Steve jokes. We think it’s totally appropriate, Steve, and we’re so happy for you both!
Want to find your own joy here at Kissing Tree? While we can’t promise that everyone’s KT experience will be as romantic as Steve and Tina’s, there are lots of activities and amenities you’re sure to love. Explore homes that are ready for move in or find your floor plan.