Bill and Tanis Merimee are the founders of Marriages of Grace and have been involved with the pre-cana and marriage ministries since 2008. They were married in 1992 and have nine children, five of whom are married. They have seven grandchildren and two on the way. They met at the Cleveland Institute of Music while pursuing their undergraduate degrees in music performance. Bill is a violinist, and Tanis is a cellist who freelances throughout the Cleveland area and manages Sonata Strings through Cleveland Music Group. Bill is a retired captain of the Fairview Park fire department and an acute care nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department at Fairview Hospital. He is also the EMS Director at Cleveland Clinic's Emergency Services Institute. Bill and Tanis are certified Marriage Couple Ministers for the Diocese of Cleveland.