Keathan Frink and Marie Elianor

Their courtship withstood the test of time and distance.

“I drove up and down  I-10 and I-75 every other weekend. At times it was a 5 hour drive,” recalls Keathan Frink,

He first met his wife, Marie Elianor, at a summer law program at Florida State University

She was the smarty-pants in the classroom..“She was annoying,” he chuckled. “Asking a lot of questions.” But he also admits that he secretly admired her.“I thought she was brilliant.“

So brilliant that Marie knew instantly that he was the kind of mate she was looking for.

It was clear she hit the jackpot and there was no time to waste. “He walked in, in a suit, 6 feet 4 inches, and I was just like, “Okay, that’s me right there.” So I went to him and essentially just told him we were going to be together. He did not, of course, agree at the beginning, but I won him over.”

She ran off with his heart and there was no turning back. That’s when he realized that there was nothing that was going to keep him from Marie.

Once the program concluded, they kept in touch. He encouraged her to pursue her education and stressed that he did not want her to compromise her education for their relationship.He remained at FSU and she went to University of Florida. Since there was an obvious physical gap, that’s where the driving began.

But through it all, Marie commanded his attention.. “He made it all about me,” she said.

And It still is.

Married for 24 years, the couple share two daughters He is now a Circuit Court Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit. She is an associate attorney at Shrouder, Karns & Mager. They make it a priority to be there for each other like going out to functions together and setting a good example for their children. Marriage is a wonderful thing if you do it with the right person,”  said Marie.

And they both believe that they are exactly where they are supposed to be .“The whole marriage thing was just a formality,” said Keathan. “We never thought we were not going to be together.”