Editor’s note: Robert Kimsey was in his late 80s when we interviewed him for Issue 6 in 2022. After learning that he recently passed away, we searched our archive for the article so we could post it today. The story of his life with his loving wife, Tonia, is worth repeating.

In their 80s, this dynamic duo left Florida and moved to Mérida — for the 2nd time

By Joanna van der Gracht de Rosado

Once you set change in motion, a host of surprises come your way. The Kimseys have seen this happen again and again.

In 1982, when Tonia Mucelli relocated from New York City to Palm Beach, Florida, she felt excited about her prospects as the public relations point person for a large construction company in the sun-soaked state.

A short time later, the company’s CEO hosted a birthday party for himself. He asked her to come, and he also invited Robert Kimsey, a consultant for the firm. The two, seated next to each other at dinner, felt an instant connection.

“I thought she was beautiful,” says Roberto, which is what he’s often called after so many years in Mexico. “But I never imagined I’d be lucky enough to be still sitting beside her 40 years later.”

Tonia gives his hand a squeeze. “That night, we had no idea of all that was in store for us,” she says. “But right away, I felt fascinated by his stories of traveling in Mexico.”

“I asked her if she would have dinner with me the following weekend, this time on our own,” Roberto remembers. “She accepted my invitation, and during our second evening together, she told me she had worked previously at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.”

There she helped to develop a well-received children’s program. “Mexican history and folk culture was a popular topic,” she said, although she had never been to Mexico.

Tonia felt intrigued by Roberto’s adventures. She told him at the time that she’d like to see the country — with him.

“Yes, it’s true. I did say that,” says Tonia, “I made it way too easy for him.”

Roberto laughs. “We’d both been married previously, and we agreed to spend Christmas Day with our respective families — grown children, parents, aunts, and uncles. Then, the following day, the two of us flew to Guadalajara. We also wanted to spend time in San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City.”

Tonia’s hands make dramatic, swooping circles as she recalls their first adventure south of the Rio Grande. “We stayed at the Camino Real, Posadas de Mexico, La Casa de la Sierra Nevada — such gorgeous hotels. We ate exquisite foods I’d never tasted before. And I fell in love with mariachi music. Roberto rented a vintage sports car to get us around, and really, his personality changed behind the wheel of the flashy little car,” she laughs. “I baptized him Roberto.”

“And the new name stuck,” he says. “Tonia and Roberto has a nice ring to it.”

A few months later, on their next trip to Mexico, both felt they wanted a longer stay in one place. They chose a small apartment in San Miguel. He took painting classes at the Instituto Allende, and she studied jewelry making. “She looked adorable,” says Roberto, “when she’d arrive home with silver dust in her hair.”

“We both realized,” Tonia adds, “that we were having more fun than anyone else we knew. We felt invigorated in Mexico. Life seemed much more exciting.”

“We’ve hung on to that feeling ever since,” says Roberto. “All these years have gone by, and we feel just the same way we did back then. Mexico makes our life better.”

A critical eye

And in Florida, their bond with Mexico overlapped with their work life. Roberto is a builder with a preference for Mediterranean and Spanish Colonial styles. Tonia is a decorator, and together they imported many of the feature pieces that made their houses stand apart — stone columns, carved wooden beams, marble accent pieces, textiles, and pottery.

“Good art jumps out at me,” says Tonia.

“She has an eye, that’s for sure,” says Roberto.

As retirement approached, the couple decided they would make Mexico their year-round home. In 1997, Roberto built a home, just for them, on the beach in La Manzanilla, a small fishing village of 3,000 people. Several painters and sculptors had already set up studios there, and with time more came to live on the shore of the little-known west-coast retreat.

“The artists needed a gallery,” says Tonia. So she designed one, and Roberto built it. One newspaper back in the U.S. described them as “American art collectors with dreams that ride the clouds and feet that skip along the sand.”

“So many people came to our openings — 200 or so — some drove, and some arrived by taxi all the way from Guadalajara and San Miguel.”

The Kimseys helped the local families, too. Roberto built a community cultural center and taught kids to paint. They empowered single moms by forming a jams-and-jellies cooperative.

By the time Tonia and Roberto had lived in La Manzanilla 10 years, they were in their 70s. Friends visited the capital city of Yucatán and suggested that the Kimseys consider moving to Mérida. “You might do well to live closer to an international airport, to medical facilities, entertainment, restaurants, and other big city infrastructure,” they explained.

“They were right,” says Roberto. “Once Tonia and I visited Mérida, we could appreciate that we needed the increased comfort that’s available here.”

When they first arrived, they knew no one, so they both joined the Mérida English Library, and she began attending meetings at the International Women’s Club. They bought season tickets to the symphony. And as soon as their pretty new home was completed, their “Dinners for Eight” began. And so did the parties, for about 10 times that number. Meanwhile, Roberto continued building, and Tonia decorated the homes.

“Best of all, we had time for all our interests,” says Roberto. For the Kimseys, life in Mérida moseyed along as gracefully as a small sloop on a calm bay.

In 2017, health concerns caused Tonia and Roberto to look northward again. Their families in the States wanted Tonia and Roberto to return.

“Our years in Mexico had been a wonderful ride, but we needed to think about what our children wanted,” says Roberto. So everything got sold or shipped, and eventually, with the imperious cat in one kennel and a shy little dog in the other, they moved to the Tampa Bay area and set up yet another home.

But Tonia and Roberto weren’t able to stay away from Mérida for long. Roberto missed his projects, and after the isolation of the pandemic, Tonia also felt she needed to go “home” to Mexico. And now, at 84 and 88, they’ve bought a smaller house in Mérida and are already talking about their renovation plans.

“In Yucatán, we experience joy every day. We feel like we have come back here to continue living the best possible life,” Roberto says. “We’ll take care of ourselves and each other.”

Tonia smiles when asked why some people fare well in a new place and others do not fit in.

“If a person comes to Mexico expecting something grand, it will probably elude them. But if they are patient, time will show the way to a simple yet wonderful life.”