During the holidays, true love was officially sanctioned on the shores of Hawaii's Oahu island when Houston billionaire Fayez Sarofim, 85, after batching it for 15 years, tied the knot with his decades-younger protegée, Susan Krohn.
The lively — sometimes redheaded, sometimes blonde — Krohn blew in from New Orleans on the winds of Hurricane Katrina, landing in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood of Houston. There, the seeds of eternal bliss were planted not only for Krohn, but also for her eldest daughter, Lori.
The groom, who is seldom seen in anything but his three-piece custom suit, wore a tuxedo. The bride dressed in white.
Last May, Lori wed Fayez Sarofim's son Phillip — also in Hawaii. The New Year's nuptials created a family affair in which Phillip and Lori became step-siblings in addition to their status as husband and wife.
Fayez's wedding present to the newlyweds was the River Oaks mansion that Susan Krohn had bought and spent millions refurbishing after resettling in Houston. She moved only a few blocks away into a brand-new mini-mansion.
The senior Sarofims were wed in an afternoon ceremony on New Year's Eve at Fayez's home (the former estate of the late Clare Booth Luce) on the shores of the Pacific. The groom, who is seldom seen in anything but his three-piece custom suit, wore a tuxedo. The bride dressed in white.
The ceremony, officiated by a friend of the bride, took place on the terrace. The weather was perfect. The flowers were beautiful. Friends and family from both Hawaii and Houston attended. Fayez's traditional New Year's luau, always a lavish affair, followed with the addition of a band providing dance music.
And, in the end, The Sphinx — as Sarofim is called for his quiet demeanor — said "I do."
Sarofim's estate, former home of Clare Booth Luce, was the site of the wedding celebration.
