Gary and Katie Eastburn met each other in the early 1970s. Katie grew up in Kansas and met Gary at a softball game.
Gary and Katie didn’t jump into anything too quickly, though. They dated for five years until they were sure they were ready to get married.
In 1975, they got married and went on to have three children: five-year-old Kara, three-year-old Erin, and nearly two-year-old Jana.
Gary was a military man and ranked as a captain in the US Air Force. Gary was sent to Fayetteville, North Carolina to work as the chief of air traffic control, and the Eastburn family would be there for as long as his job needed him.
Katie was a stay-at-home mom, and this lifestyle worked for them. They loved their kids and loved their marriage. The Eastburns would remain in Fayetteville for about two more years.
Everyone in the community just adored them and was happy to have them there, even if it wasn’t permanent. But Gary received a job from the Royal Air Force in England, which meant they would be moving again.
Even though their home base was Fayetteville, Gary was stationed 500 miles away in Montgomery, Alabama for officer training. It wasn’t uncommon for the girls to go without seeing their dad for long periods. But the family stayed in contact.
