Love on the Rock: Fireworks, Ferry Rides and Float City
Some love stories begin with grand gestures. Others start with a tug on a shirt sleeve.
For Kelly (neé Gillooley) and Brett Surerus, it began at the Shelter Island Craft Fair when they were just 12 and 13 years old. Back then, the fair was so big it spilled over onto Fiske Field. Kelly was a summer girl from Manhattan, spending her sunny season on the Island with her family. Brett was a local kid whose family had made the Island home since he was a baby.
Brett still remembers the moment: Kelly and her best friend Susie Dempsey were wearing white shirts and cutoff jean shorts, the unofficial uniform of summer girls. Brett was sporting what he considered a fashionable custom baseball jersey. The girls immediately began teasing him and trying to pull the stitched patches off his shirt. Kelly and Brett became girlfriend and boyfriend for a single summer before life did what life does. School started. Kelly returned to the West Village. They grew up, moved on, and followed separate paths.
But the Island has a way of bringing people back together.
More than a decade later, Brett was driving to his friend Beth Lenox’s rehearsal dinner when he spotted Kelly and Susie sitting on the porch at Planet Bliss. He spun the car around, stopped to say hello and sat down for a chat. “Later that night we met up at The Dory and the rest, as they say, is history,” Brett recalled.
Both went to college in Massachusetts — Kelly attended Wheaton College and Brett attended Nichols College — and they were part of the same circle of Island friends. Brett was working in banking in Massachusetts while Kelly was living in the city working in event planning. Every weekend became a carefully orchestrated reunion: Kelly would take the Long Island Rail Road to Greenport while Brett would ride the Cross Sound Ferry to Orient Point. The two would meet at the old Chowder Pot Pub (now PORT), where they savored bowls of chowder and bottles of beer before making their way back to Shelter Island.
“I remember her running from the train and giving me a big hug and a kiss,” Brett said.
Weekends were spent exactly as 20-somethings in love should spend them: stretched out on Crescent Beach, floating in the water with friends and squeezing every possible minute from summer. One particular summer sealed everything.
In 2005, the week leading up to the Shelter Island Fireworks, both had vacation time scheduled. While everyone else worked, Kelly and Brett spent day after day on the beach.
“We were completely in love that week,” Kelly said. “It sealed the deal,” Brett added. Today, nearly two decades later, fireworks remain woven throughout their story.
But before there were fireworks committees and fundraising events, there was heartbreak.
Kelly’s father, Dr. John “Jack” Gillooley, became gravely ill. A beloved Shelter Island figure known for his strength, humor, and resilience after a life-changing spinal cord injury, Dr. Jack left an impression on everyone he met. When Brett asked for permission to marry Kelly, Dr. Jack could no longer speak, but he gave Brett a nod. “It was great,” Brett said softly. “But also pretty tough.”
Dr. Gillooley passed away in 2009. Kelly’s father’s illness changed her perspective. Inspired by the care he received and wanting to help others through difficult medical journeys, she pivoted from event planning and returned to studies at Stony Brook University, earning her nursing degree and launching a career in critical care.
On June 19, 2010, Brett and Kelly were married. In true Shelter Island fashion, even their wedding venue came together through a bit of serendipity. After finding other locations booked, they spotted a heart displayed in the window of what was then Mosquito Hawk Gallery, across from Planet Bliss. Kelly looked at Brett and said, “What if we got married there?” So they did.
Pastor Bill Grimbol officiated. Following the ceremony, more than 200 guests packed into Brett’s dad Paul’s backyard for the reception. The weather was pristine. “It was one of those magical Shelter Island days,” Kelly remembered.
Soon came the next chapter: parenthood. Their son Jackson arrived in 2013 while they were living in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Their daughter Piper followed 17 months later. While in Brooklyn, the couple had already begun asking themselves a question familiar to many Islanders who leave but never really leave: What are we doing?
Even while living in Brooklyn, they returned to Shelter Island nearly every weekend. They loved the city, but their hearts were on the Island. Eventually they made the move home. Today, their children embody much of what Kelly and Brett cherish about Island life. Piper is funny, kind, athletic, and deeply caring. Jackson is a whirlwind of energy whose devotion to sports sometimes borders on legendary. One recent night, Brett woke up at 1 a.m. to find his son outside shooting hoops by himself.
Amid the joy of living on the Island, Kelly and Brett have also learned difficult lessons about loss. Brett and his family suffered the passing of his beloved brother Keith in 2014. On top of this devastating loss, in recent years the family has endured an extraordinary series of hardships, including Kelly’s battle with breast cancer and the sudden loss of Kelly’s mother, Virginia Gillooley. Known as Ginger, she is remembered for being the life of the party, a wonderful hugger, a quick-witted storyteller and a devoted mother, grandmother, wife, friend, daughter and sister.
Not long after the loss of Ginger, Brett’s father Paul passed away just weeks after his cancer diagnosis. Paul was known for being a skilled craftsman, a master gardener, a teller of off-color jokes and stories, and as Brett put it, “the center of our universe.”
Yet through every storm, Kelly and Brett have leaned into one another rather than away. “We’re lucky that we don’t turn on each other during hard times,” she said. Brett described grief as waves. Sometimes one person is caught in the storm while the other steadies the boat. And then there is Shelter Island itself. “The one thing Shelter Island does better than anyone else is a crisis,” Brett said.
No one rallied faster when their family needed support than Brett’s mom, Ceil, known as Yaya to her grandkids. “She has a quiet strength and the kindest heart, and wishes the best for everyone,” Brett said. Ceil is always ready to add someone to her prayer list.
In the couple’s time of need, friends became family. Meals appeared. Help arrived. People showed up. That spirit of showing up inspired one of the couple’s proudest accomplishments. Back in 2015, while riding the ferry to work, Brett read a headline announcing that Shelter Island’s annual fireworks display would not happen. The Chamber of Commerce no longer had the time or resources to organize it. By the time Brett reached the other side, he had already begun texting friends. “If anybody’s going to do it,” he told them, “we are.”
What started as a few conversations became Shelter Island Fireworks Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. Ten years later, Brett and Kelly remain the original members still involved in the charity that is now led by Cat Brigham. The organization has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, navigated permits, barges, logistics, sponsorships, and countless challenges, all to preserve a tradition that means so much to the community. Their commitment reflects a philosophy that guides nearly everything they do.
“If you live somewhere,” Brett said, repeating advice from his father, “seek to improve it.”
That same principle guides Kelly’s newest venture, her company called IV League, helping Islanders navigate healthcare challenges and bridging gaps in care for residents who often struggle to access services off-Island, as well as offering mobile IV therapy. This principle of making things better also drives Brett’s new business, Shelter Island Property Management, which he has built around service, trust and local relationships.
Their story is indelibly woven into the fabric of this Island, from a craft fair romance and a first kiss at The Dory to fireworks over Crescent Beach and children growing up on the same beaches where they once floated through long summer afternoons.
While some love stories are written in grand chapters, others are written in days on Crescent Beach, date nights at Vine Street Cafe, dinner parties with friends, community service, and showing up when people need you most.
Shelter Island Fireworks Inc. encourages those wishing to support the July 11 fireworks to donate and/or attend two fundraisers. The first outing will take place at Sunset Beach on June 19 from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are available at the door and on their website: shelterislandfireworks.com/. The second outing will take place at SALT (free of charge) on July 10, the eve of the pyrotechnics. Your contribution keeps the tradition lit up.
