It’s fitting that Al and Mary Balloqui own a unique heart-shaped pool. This couple has a unique story and an unusual life.

 

It was the city of London and an “old fashioned” ad in the classifieds that brought them together. Al, born with a Puerto Rican mother and Italian father, was working on a three-year contract to expand an American company into Europe and Mary was from England when she responded to the ad.  

 

“I was excited to hear that Al had an American accent after contacting him on the phone,” Mary explained.  “I was living in Warrington - mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester and my hobby/exercise was Country Line Dancing, I loved American music!   Naively little did I know he was from NY, NY.  So, my first attraction was the accent and his friendly confident personality.  Total opposite of me: the English Rose!” 

 

“To know Mary is to Love Mary,” Al said. “Mary became my best friend, first. She was easy to be with. From the first day meeting her, I discovered someone who was naturally genuine. I found Mary to be intelligent and innocent, void of judgment. She possessed a unique air about her that was welcoming and comfortable. She was easy to look at, always properly dressed and presented. Yes, attractive…actually, elegant would be more fitting. What my family would call 'a keeper.'”

 

Mary and Al have three children and nine grandchildren (three were adopted!). Their son Alfie and his wife Liz are in Istanbul doing mission work with their five children. Their oldest daughter Tori and husband Nick live in the Kansas City area with their three children where she is the Director of Nursing for KU Medical Center, and he is a special ed teacher. Youngest Daughter Quianna and her husband Max live in Oregon with a 1-year-old son where she is a speech therapist, and he coaches and teaches special ed.

 

After meeting in England, Al and Mary were married on June 22, 2002. One week later, they left for the United States and moved to Las Vegas. Their business, SunRise Acres (30 acres where they grow trees, exotic fruit, and vegetables) continues today. They spent 10 years there before moving to Kansas City when grandchildren started to arrive. There they have the business LaborMax, a staffing business that also continues. Their family calls them serial entrepreneurs, but both Mary and Al admit they can have many “balls in the air” due to good managers. In Kansas City, Al was very active as a mentor and leader in the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which is one of the first ones in the country. Al was involved for 10 years and was a director for six. 

 

His business achievements were noticed and Al was recognized with several recent awards and recognitions including; the 2023 Charles F. Cortes Humanitarian of the Year, Harvard Business School listed LaborMax as 23rd in the country for inner-city businesses that did the most for the community, and he won the "Minority Business of the Year" for the state of Texas.

 

Moving from Kansas City to the Daytona Beach Area was not a fast transition, this time it was a process.

 Al explained that when Mary turned 62 years old, she thought she wanted to retire, and, “I told her that's not how we do it and so we came to a compromise, and we took one week off each month and traveled. We bought something in Cancun and then we started to go to Florida and look because thought it would be easier for the children to visit. After looking all over the state we found the most advantageous place for us was here, and that's when we went ahead and acquired the Ormond Oceanfront Rose Retreat Bed and Breakfast in anticipation of retiring in a few years. These beachfront vacation homes had guests who had been coming for over 12 years! When we found the Rose Retreat we fell in love with it so we acquired it in 2019.”

 

They had friends who would push them to move here permanently and informed them a historic Bed and Breakfast was for sale on the river in Holly Hill and they made a trip to visit it.

 

“The owner Polly met us at the front door,” Al recalled. “We all still had masks on because COVID was going on and she let out a gasp as I walked up the stairs and said, ‘The Lily brought me here and now it’s brought you here and you're going to buy this home!’ She told me that before we even entered the building…that's the truth! And you know we looked at the property and I told Mary to get the checkbook. I had been a broker for 44 years at that time; I had never ever bought a property at first sight, but we did and 60 days later we closed.”

 

River Lily has seven suites on 1.5 acres with both personal and corporate guests, including being a popular wedding venue. Al and Mary are the third owners to own River Lily in its nearly 30-year history as a bed and breakfast; before that, it was a private home. The history of this 1.5-acre property goes back to the 1800s and used to include the land across the street now named Ross Park after Robert W. Ross, to whom the land was first deeded. He built a log cabin and in 1860 it served as the first post office along the river route to drop off and pick up. Ross was later asked by President Lincoln to be the Provincial Governor of Kansas. The home later to become River Lily was built in the 1890s and had several owners.

 

Currently, the popular English Tea event allows Mary to host a truly elegant tea where she shares stories of growing up and the differences between British and American traditions. Mary also speaks the rare “Rhyming Slang” only spoken in London (for this you need to attend a tea and ask Mary!). This year they are opening for lunch as well. Mary is also involved in Boss Lady Ormond and the couple are both members of the Halifax Yacht Club and support the Holly Hill Museum, where photos of the pool can be found.

 

They truly love their life and mission of customer service with all their businesses. Landlocked for years, they love the ocean and being near water. Visitors to River Lily can enjoy the heart-shaped pool on the south side of their property. As the story goes…75 years ago, the then-current owner supposedly was unfaithful to his wife, who threatened to leave him. Regretfully he begged her to not go and questioned how he could show his love. The demand was, "Build me a pool just like Jane Mansfield." This heart-shaped pool was indeed built and is 40’ x 44’ and holds 60,000 gallons of water. Originally it had a slide and diving board. At the time it was the largest pool in Volusia County. This pool, still enjoyed after 75 years, is a bold tribute to love.