Pets, Left to right: Chief, Tucker, Bruin
”Sukie” is a fixture in the Huntington Beach community, thriving successfully in the Seacliff area as a real estate business owner. She founded SeaCliff Realty in 1997. The balancing of life, business, and family is not an easy task, yet in the 33 years of her business experience as a realtor and company owner in the Seacliff area, Sukie exudes a strong positive attitude graced with spirituality. Sukie is a mother of three grandmother to three grandchildren, ages four and under.
Sukie resides in The Westport community ofThe Peninsula at Huntington SeaCliff, on the golf course. She purchased this home after a prospective buyer decided not to purchase it. While showcasing a new model home to prospective buyers in 1999, Sukie exclaimed, “If you are not interested in this home I sure am, though I don’t play golf, the view is spectacular!” As it turns out, her clients went a different direction, which compelled Sukie to rally her young children to the home receiving a unanimous approval with a high five. Sukie immediately purchased the home, which is where she lives, and works today.
A “surfer girl” at heart, Sukie grew up in Surf City Huntington Beach and attended Marina High School. Growing up Sukie was active in her community and conquered many challenges, shaping her into the woman she is today. In her late teens, Sukie had always dreamed of seeing the world as a flight attendant. At the age of twenty she was hired by TWA, based out of New York City and began flying overseas. This was an amazing experience traveling the world but the work was not challenging and Sukie missed Southern California.
Determined to find her path, she returned to Orange County and began working in property management. But life wasn’t always easy for Sukie and her family. Shortly after returning back to HB Sukie received a call from her father notifying her of her mother’s declining health issues. She left Orange County to take care of her parents for several years. In addition to her helping her parents, Sukie began working in nursing homes and dedicated her time working with disabled children for several years while living in the Midwest. It was work she loved, instilling humanitarian values that deeply resonated with her. Sukie knew she had a calling to help people and make a positive difference in their lives. These life experiences helped shape Sukie’s devotion to giving back to her community.
Although her time in the Midwest was longer than expected, Sukie met her husband there, coincidentally also from OC. They moved back to Huntington Beach where it all started in 1983. Together they were hired by”SeaCliff on the Greens”to sell homes in their new development. Sukie worked for a variety of local new homebuilders in Huntington Beach prior to founding SeaCliff Realty. In 1996 Sukie was laid off by a builder due to over-exceeding the business’s expectations. Therefore, they could not afford to keep her as an employee. Sukie, now motivated, became passionate for a fair and just opportunity for herself and others. Sukie felt inspired to follow her dream and propelled a new company that would treat clientele, employees, staff, and agents equally, which is the corporate culture of her SeaCliff team. Ironically, after Sukie’s company became successful, the same builder realized he needed Sukie and hired her back.
As her dream of owning an equal opportunity business began to bloom, Sukie’s personal life was transitioning. A divorced woman with young children aged three, five, and seven, Sukie was challenged to make things work for her family. She and her former husband kept a close and friendly relationship by remaining in the SeaCliff area. Chelsea, 33, says, “I felt very lucky and fortunate to have both parents so close and being able to grow up in SeaCliff”.
Sukie’s eldest son Shayne, 34, remembers growing up in the community playing in the streets of the family friendly neighborhood with his youngest sister. Jocelyn, 30, laughs as she looks back on her childhood with her siblings and says, “Shayne and I used to play street hockey outside and I would always be goalie because I could do the splits.” Chelsea recalls using her wagon when moving her things from one house to another because the homes they grew up in were literally a few blocks apart.
Shayne, a licensed agent with SeaCliff Realty, lives in Long Beach with wife Sarah and five-month old son Myles. “We are all finally learning to sleep through the night, however our hobby (happily) seems to be taking care of baby Myles 24/7!” Sarah, a devoted mother to baby Myles, is also a local award winning architectural landscape designer. Shayne and Sarah enjoy taking walks on the beach to unwind with their dog Bruin, named after Shayne’s UCLA alma mater. When asked if he had an interesting family story to share, he laughed and said, “Well, mom and dad and I were on Family Feud and won four times! My mom was the fast money girl in several episodes that aired in 1989.” Growing up, Shayne remembers the community as a great area to raise a family.
President of SeaCliff Realty, Chelsea Roger is Sukie’s oldest daughter. Sukie and Chelsea brought the family together for Chelsea and Sean Roger’s 2013 wedding in Kauai, HI. (a go to vacation destination for the Fee Family). Shea, their adorable baby girl is seven and a half months old. Tucker is their seven year old darling Boston terrier. Chelsea and Sean met through a mutual friend eleven years ago. They grew up together in the Huntington Beach school district as they attended the same elementary, middle, and high school. Chelsea started with SeaCliff Realty out of high school at the young age of 18, prior to meeting Sean. As a young, busy, and fun family, the couple enjoys their separate interests. Sean loves to surf the Huntington Beach waves and enjoys his baby girl, Shea. Chelsea finds her inner peace practicing yoga and being a new mother. They both love to travel, finding themselves in Hawaii at least twice a year to visit friends on the island.
Youngest daughter Jocelyn, also licensed with her mom’s company, was recently married to husband Jason Miller in January. Jason’s beautiful spirit and his kind and loving heart are a gift to Jocelyn, her daughter, and her entire family. Her fairy tale began as ‘love at first sight; celebrating their honeymoon in Costa Rica. Like most of her family, Jocelyn is occupied with her many hobbies including raising her beautiful daughter Lola, four years old. Jocelyn and Jason share a passion for the holistic lifestyle and operate two Holistic centers; one in Orange County and one in Long Beach. The couple’s common interests include hosting yoga retreats, hiking, camping, and playing with and caring for Chief, their new pug puppy. Jocelyn reminisces about growing up in the Seacliff communities saying, “We would sneak onto the golf course and play capture the flag. Over the years we lived in several Seacliff area communities. There were a bunch of kids our age living there at the same time, so we were very grateful to have made many family friends over the years”.
The entire family is looking forward to their family camping trip planned for August of this year at a familiar spot they traveled to as young kids, Lake Nacimiento. Jocelyn eagerly says, “We hope to make it an annual family camping trip. When we offered mom a cabin, she said no cabin for her – she’ll sleep on an air mattress with everyone else!
The SeaCliff Realty family is preparing to celebrate their 20th anniversary in March 2017. Reflecting back, SeaCliff Realty, Inc. was founded upon family values, relationships, and respect. “My vision for this company was to create a business family, a team of people that pull together in the same direction for our clientele; a community within a community.” Sukie shares her mission statement, ‘One for all, all for one, all for you; that is my goal and I feel blessed because that is what has evolved over a period of almost 20 years with SeaCliff Realty Home Sales and Information Center.”
As Sukie closes a major chapter in her life, walking each of her three beautiful children down the aisle, she now watches in awe as her children enjoy life with their families, while still actively working harder than ever. It’s now Sukie’s time for a loving, passionate, and caring partner. Sukie says, “I am not all business, I am all relationship; my company, my community, my children, and my having a significant other in my life, are all important to me … and that’s really coming
right from my heart.” Sukie quotes one of her favorite romantic movies; “There is no chance of failure if you never give up”.
Written by: Jillian Zuniga and Sukie
Photographs by: Carol Larsen Photography
Originally Published in SeaCliff Living Magazine-July 2016
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