Historic Onancock, Virginia is a harbor town off the Chesapeake Bay founded in 1608. A small treasure surrounded by scenic views and quiet beaches. The port boasts an 8-block cultural district filled with shops, culinary delights, and art galleries, but what drew George Brown and Leilani Russell to Onancock on the same evening was the North Street Playhouse.
“We met at Onancock at a play. We sat next to each other, and we had a drink at intermission. It was fate,” Leilani said.
They talked and laughed during the intermission. The two began getting to know one another. Both were divorced, Leilani recently retired after 39 years at DuPont and George a software company business owner after retiring as a systems engineer from Honeywell. Leilani had 3 grown children, 2 sons, and a daughter. George had 3 grown sons. He was handsome and meticulous. She was attractive, funny, and had a Hollywood smile. That night at the theater, while unplanned, was their first date.
The two became inseparable; they enjoyed trying new things and seeing unfamiliar places on the Eastern Shore. They loved to talk, and at this stage in life, they had time to pursue many unique hobbies, adventures and experiences. In 2016 their courtship was altered by one such experience, pickleball.
“My brother is 5 years younger. He would message me all the time about pickleball. I would forget about it and never even Googled it. We were all meeting in Ocean City, Maryland, and he again suggested we try it, and we fell in love with the game,” George said.
They knew instantly that they wanted to play more and learn more. They grabbed onto the sport and soon found themselves hunting for more opportunities.
“We loved the game that first day but got our butts whipped. We could tell we would get better, and we played locally when we returned home,” George said.
Pickleball fit into their lives and routine nicely.
“We love the mental component and the exercise. We already exercised, but it is great to add more, especially when it is fun,” George said.
The couple inserted their new sport and love for it into their retirement hobby list, which includes some not-so-traditional tasks.
“We are beekeepers,” George said. Leilani and George are proud members of the Beekeepers Guild of the Eastern Shore. The two are experts in bee colonies, stings, hive management, and the products from the hive, like honey. They mentor others that want to learn how to keep bees. They have read extensively on the topic and plotted how to be more productive with the hobby.
They may spend a morning at their hives and an afternoon at the local YMCA playing pickleball. They quickly discovered, however, that even though pickleball was not originally on their radar, the pickleball people followed once they started into it.
“People would hear the balls when we played and come up to our group and say, what are you guys doing,” Leilani said. “Soon, they would join us.”
The community part of the game is very touching and vital to the couple. They began to make new lifelong friends, and things started to soar socially when they found different venues for play.
“We discovered a lady, Diana Tilghman, who was a pickleball nut. She was starting it in Chincoteague, Virginia,” George said.
They signed up and attended her event. Even though at that point, they weren’t exactly newcomers, the courts were better than the YMCA, and it was an opportunity to expand their game. They were also drawn in by Diana’s passion and love, and desire to give to the sport.
“Diana gathered and started this in Chincoteague. She brought in all the people. She built it up from a handful to 30-40. Diana loved it, and she was so kind,” George said. Sadly, Diana passed away at a young age from cancer. A picture of her hangs at the Chincoteague complex as a remembrance of her legacy.
They emerged in this new, welcoming, considerate community and focused on this game they loved. When they married in 2018, they received congratulations from people they only knew from pickleball, a testament to the game’s sense of friendship.
Leilani would become the administrator for the Chincoteague group’s Facebook page. She thought creating a space for people to post pictures and give updates was important. Leilani, a Genealogy Volunteer at the Historical Society of Eastern Shore of Virginia, loves people and organizing. Everything is an index, a conduit of information for future generations, even pickleball.
They also regularly play in Cape Charles, Virginia, and at an airplane hangar in Pocomoke City, Maryland. Their pickle friends are never surprised when some new idea surfaces from the couple.
When a friend bought an old warehouse and discovered an old piano a new business was born—Vive Le Piano. The Browns take old pianos and convert them into bars, desks, and coffee stations. The combination of Leilani’s creative ability and George’s attention to detail creates beautifully refurbished art.
“We recycle everything and use it somewhere. For one bar, we used the hammers from the piano to hold wine glasses, the shelf below holding the wine rack was the panel covering the bottom of the piano, and the piano key cover is now the top shelf. We leave the harp exposed and cover the keys with a quality piece of glass. The only thing we purchase is the glass and LED lights, which adjust to all colors,” Leilani said.
The couple enjoys taking the pianos apart and talking to their pickleball friends about how much work had to have gone into building these instruments.
It isn’t just their friends on the Eastern Shore that hear about the couple’s ventures with bees and pianos. The more pickleball they play and the more they have improved their game, they have pickle friends now throughout the country.
“We qualified for the Senior Olympics in Delaware,” Leilani said.
They did well in Delaware, winning gold medals with their partners Andy Hiller and Kim Haig. They also make a yearly trip to Florida. They love how often you can play in Florida. George loves that when they go to Florida, they can play 5-6 times a week for up to 5 hours a day. George, a 4.0 player, would love to one day be 5.0 but realizes that may be out of reach in the sheer time needed to accomplish it. Leilani’s dream is to be a solid 4.0 and one day play at a gorgeous resort devoted to pickleball.
The Future
The couple teaches beginners now and welcomes newcomers to the sport, reminding them of when they started. They are part of a legacy that will carry forward for years. They have witnessed the growth of Chincoteague pickle and treasure it. They also want to see it expand in their local area and advocate for more courts beyond the YMCA.
Leilani has 12 grandchildren and was elated when her daughter and grandson got out on the court with her and George. “They didn’t realize how hard it was; she was amazed at how fun it was,” Leilani said.
Their pickleball journey has put in front of them many amazing people. And the Chincoteague club remains special.
“Mike, a great athlete, used to play with us all the time. He had a stroke; occasionally, he comes and hits balls with us still,” he said. “The group is a community.” They have built memories and experienced happiness, loss and overall well being through the game.
Pickleball even enters their sleep at times, trying to make shots and waking one another, but it also proves the same thing they knew the night they met. Whatever they try, whatever happens, it will be together.
