The Nancy Owens Breast Cancer Foundation is honored to announce the 2019 recipient of the Spirt of Courage Award; Melonee Piperi.
Melonee has been in the Real Estate industry for 30 years. During this time she earned her Broker’s License and numerous designations: Certified Relocation Professional, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, and Certified Negotiations Expert. Melonee Is a Top Producer and owner of one of the top teams at Keller Williams Realty, The Moving Houston Team.
Melonee is a country girl at heart. Growing up on a farm in rural southeast Texas as the only girl with three older brothers, she learned the meaning of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. She has been married to her rock, Ron Piperi, for 32 years, and they have two beautiful daughters: Natalia (30) and Mode Piperi (25).
Melonee began her real estate career as an assistant to Pat Satter of Pat Satter Realtors in 1989. She has held every job in a real estate office from Assistant to Office Manager to now owning and operating her own top producing real estate Team and a residential Property Management Company.
Melonee was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 at 35 years old. She was told that if she did not undergo massive chemotherapy and other invasive treatments she would not survive six months. Never having had any medical issues this really was a severe blow. However, determined to prove the doctors wrong, she came out fighting and made up her mind she was going to beat cancer.
With two small children ages 9 and 5, she did not want to put them through the agony of watching her go through chemotherapy and opted for surgery and radiation. Her husband stood by her side and helped her through the ordeal. Being a single agent at the time, it was very difficult financially on her and her family, but she continued to work full-time and persevered. This was a turning point where she realized she needed help and could not work 24/7 as she had in the past. This was the beginning of building a team.
Fifteen years later, at the height of her career, owning and operating one of the top producing real estate teams in Houston, she was diagnosed with breast cancer a second time and was told she is a carrier of the BRCA 1 gene. This time she had to step away from real estate and endure five surgeries and six months of chemotherapy.
She credits her husband and daughters for helping her through this difficult time. They were her caregivers and her emotional support system. “I would not have survived without them by my side,” she said. Melonee’s remarkable team stepped in and ran her business so she could focus on her recovery. Because she had an amazing team with wonderful systems in place, her team was able to take over the business and never miss a beat. Most of her clients did not even realize she had cancer or was away from her business.
Today, Melonee is a cancer survivor and spends her time running her team and counseling breast cancer patients thru their own struggle with the terrible disease. She feels she has a higher purpose now in helping others find their path to being a survivor.
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