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The Northshore's Hottest Husbands
by Stacey Paretti Rase
photography by Thomas B. Growden
When Inside Northside sent out the call for nominations to find the “Northshore’s Hottest Husband,” I expected to receive loads of photos from wives of hunky guys. (It’s a tough job, but I figured I could handle it!) What I didn’t expect were the wonderfully sincere letters written by those wives, extolling their partner’s virtues. Those incredibly moving letters led us to redefine our vision for the contest. They caused us to ask ourselves—what truly makes a husband hot? Is sexiness based on looks alone, or is it found in the little nuances of everyday life? The overwhelming majority of the submissions we received proposed the latter. Wives told us that they find their husband most attractive when he simply helps with the household chores, changes the baby’s diaper or merely tells her that he loves her.
So, while the original aim of this Valentine’s Day tribute was to bestow one hunky guy with the title of “Hottest Husband,” we found it difficult to choose just one! We decided instead on a handful of winners, all of whom had beautifully penned tributes from their loving wives. What follows are excerpts from those sweet submissions. They are quite possibly the best Valentine’s Day gift of all—love letters straight from the heart.
We would like to thank the gracious menswear stores who dressed these hunky husbands for our photo shoot: Bastille’s for Men, Perlis and H.W. Rosenblum. Many thanks also to Longbranch Restaurant in Abita Springs for providing a beautiful background for our shots.
Dustin Simms
by Jade Simms
True gentlemen are hard to find, but my husband is one of them. He is considerate of all others. From our two-year-old daughter to his almost 80-year-old grandmother, Dustin knows how to treat the ladies in his life. He still opens up doors for me after almost nine years. He always puts my wants and needs before his own (even when I beg him not to!)
Of course, my husband loves football and his Xbox, but when we have family meals, instead of rushing off to the television, he picks up his plate and helps with the dishes. At family get-togethers, (he will kill me for telling you this!) he is always the one helping to clear the table and wash the dishes. He doesn’t relax until everyone else is. He is not one to think women belong in the kitchen and men on the couch. Now that is hot!
As for being a good dad, there are a few things that stand out for me that I will mention. From the moment we brought our little girl home from the hospital, Dustin has shared in the diapering duties, colicky crying, and sleepless nights. After two years, he is still the first one to greet our little girl when she wakes up in the morning. Before I even open my eyes, he rushes in at 7am every morning to get her out of bed and feed her breakfast. He values this quality time with his daughter and that one little hour before he goes to work means the world to them both. Lately, at night when he comes home from work, he puts on the fire in the fireplace and sits down with our little girl in his lap as they gaze at the fire. It’s a ritual that he started this fall and has become quality time they both look forward to. Now, every afternoon she asks me when Daddy is coming home to light the fire. “Da (dad) fire? Da fire?” are the words I look forward to hearing every night.
Aside from daddy and husband duties (and a full-time job!), Dustin still finds time to be our yard man, pool man, maintenance man and help with the laundry and the cleaning. We call him “Do-All Dustin” around our house. When I had morning sickness with my daughter and got sick at the smell of detergent, he did every load of laundry for 17 weeks with no complaints! Although I’m a stay-at-home mom and student, Dustin knows that raising a child and maintaining a household is not a one-man job. Now if that’s not hot, I don’t know what is!
Tony Gennusa
by Tammy Gennusa
This year, Tony and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. However, we are both natives to the area and started dating while I was at Mandeville High and he was at rival Covington High. Maybe it’s the salt-and-pepper hair, but Tony is frequently asked if he knows he looks like George Clooney! Little did I know when I started dating my 135-pound, mullet-sporting boyfriend back in 1987 that I would end up with a man who resembles the much-beloved George Clooney. Do I get jealous because of the comparison and attention from the ladies? Heck no! The resemblance has resulted in us being upgraded to first-class twice and scored us prime tables in some of New York’s best restaurants.
Besides having my own ER doctor, Batman and Ocean’s 12 bad boy to play with, I also have the world’s most wonderful husband and father. He supports me in all my projects, most recently even training with me for a marathon walk for breast cancer. He has served our community by working in local law enforcement in St. Tammany as a Louisiana State Trooper and a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Deputy for over five years before entering the private sector.
Brad del Rio
by Dawn Del Rio
How about the northshore’s most “Honorable Husband”? It might not sound as exciting as “hottest husband,” but I think hot can mean honest, humble, humorous and hard working. What other qualities could a wife ask for? Sure, we might initially seek out those external qualities that make a husband “hot,” but are these everlasting? In a world where good husbands are diminishing rapidly, it’s hard to find one who will do whatever it takes to keep his family together and happy. But I have one and he’s the hottest husband I know.
Sure, in a shallow way, Brad was hot 10 years ago when we got married. But what is most important is that I discovered other qualities that make him hot today and forever. The first is honesty. Brad is always honest when it comes to our relationship. His mother tells me that as a little boy he couldn’t lie and hold it in—he would always tell on himself. Next is humor. He’s such a humorous man! He can tell a story like no one else and keep an audience totally captive. Humor goes a long way when you start to show signs of aging. He actually tells me in a most convincing way that he really likes the “extra curves” in my hip area thatI have acquired after giving birth to four children!
Most of all, his humility and self-sacrificing love towards his family is what really classifies him as the “hottest” husband in my book. After Hurricane Katrina swept through south Louisiana, Brad’s business was really crippled. Being in outside sales for thirteen years, he quickly used his determination and fortitude (two more qualities to add to the list) to keep supporting our family. After repairing our own home on the northshore, he decided to offer his “expertise” to our neighbors and before we knew it, he had turned this new-found hobby into a full-time job. That was when his humility came in. He wasn’t above knocking on doors to get work—the good old-fashioned way! His humorous wit would almost always land him the job or just lift the spirits of someone who was in the dumps after the storm. His honest character would put people at ease and allow them to trust him with the job.
Brad is back at his old job full-time now, but I fully believe that the constant prayers and the test he underwent after the storm really allowed him to go beyond himself and his own perceived limits. I saw a transformation in my husband to a more faith-filled man who really can’t stop giving of himself to his family. I recently took a trip and was away for six days. What husband do you know would agree to stay with four children aged 7 to 15 months? (And two of them had a virus during at the time!) Yes, I have the “hottest” husband around if you classify “hot” as more than just good looks. And he tells me how lucky he is and how much he loves me everyday!
Joe Marchetta
by Shelly Marchetta
First, I must say that I have never done anything like this! However, when I read about this contest, I said to myself, “I have to enter because I don’t know many men that are like mine!”
Not only is Joe physically “hot,” he is hot in so many other ways! Joe is your rare Italian, tall, dark, buff and handsome man. When people walk by Joe, you can see them all turn and take that second peek. The family just laughs. Joe is so humble and just asks, “What are they looking at?” Some think he looks like a movie star, but to me and my sons, he is just dad.
From the time we met 15 years ago he has been the same and much more. Joe has been a wonderful friend, husband, son and dad. He is a man of his word and is totally a family man. Joe has worked with the same company for 22 years. He has moved up the ladder to provide for us and is now General Manager of his company. With his demanding work schedule (14-hour days, 6 days a week), he still realizes the importance of family and remains dedicated to us. When he sees that I’m about to break down, he has the water run in the tub or will say, “Don’t worry about dinner tonight!”
Joe is always surprising us with special things to do or gifts. If you were to ask him what is most important to him he would say family, not football. If you were to ask him what are his goals in life, he would say to create a happy and healthy family. Without doubt, he is an exception. Ask any friend of mine or customer of his. They all say how lucky we are to have a wonderful dad and husband.
Emile Chopin
by Terri Chopin
My husband, Emile, cooks supper every night. “Probably something out of a can or something frozen?” you ask. No indeed! It may be something he just warms up, but it’s a meal that he made from scratch for just that purpose the previous Sunday! “Then he leaves the kitchen like a cyclone hit it, right?” you insist. Are you kidding? He’ll leave the kitchen cleaner than when he started. And did I mention that he maintains the shopping list and is the chief grocery shopper? If a meal gets cooked in the Chopin household, you can bet it was Emile that cooked it.
Besides his delicious cooking, Emile, an ex-florist, lavishly decorates the house for every holiday. Sometimes it looks like Good Housekeeping is doing a photo shoot!
But it’s not cooking, shopping or decorating that makes Emile the “Northshore’s Hottest Husband.” What puts him over the top is that he happens to love me more than I will ever deserve—and makes me feel like the northshore’s hottest wife!
Rick Vogels
by Kerri Vogels
Rick is sexy, caring, talented, funny, extremely intelligent, fun, charismatic, playful, devoted, trusting, honest…I could go on and on! Our five children [are] Christopher, 20; Eric, 18; Meagn, 17; Catie, 16 and Jonathan, 13. Chris was our first graduate (and then we have one graduating each year for four years straight!) Rick and our latest graduate, Eric, took off this summer on a “Dad and Grad trip.” They packed their cameras (a hobby they share) and took off with little more then a direction and ideas for adventure in mind. Rick makes sure each child’s dreams are encouraged. He gives each of them individual time and attention, including field trips, trips with just Dad and graduation and weekend picture-taking expeditions. Rick relates to each of our kids in a special way. They are all very close and rely on each other when the chips are down. It’s all of these things that make living my life with Rick amazing!
Not every submission could be included, nor every worthy man photographed, but we did have one hunky honorable mention! Alison Statton wrote this about her husband, Larry.
I want to nominate my husband Larry as one of the northshore’s hottest husbands. When I met Larry, one of the first things I said to him was, “You look just like Paul McCartney!” We have been married for 24 years and a lot of water has passed under the bridge, but women still remark on this celebrity resemblance. In fact, we’ve been married so long, that now our 13-year-old daughter’s friends are saying it! Did I also mention he is one of the managing partners of Merlin Candies in New Orleans (makers of the famous Merlin Easter rabbits)? Paul McCartney and chocolate—what woman could resist this combination?
