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From an early age, Catherine Ann Tom, or Kathy as she was more commonly known, was ambitious, intelligent,

and independent.

She undoubtedly paved her own successful path in life, using these seemingly innate qualities.

But it's difficult to imagine Kathy's interesting childhood didn't at least imbue her with

some of the characteristics that would eventually define her.

Born in Japan to parents John and Nancy France, and a graduate of a German high school, her father's

career in the military shaped Kathy into a worldly sort

who'd traveled to more destinations by adolescents than most folks do in their lifetime.

Her father, an Air Force colonel, flew F four Phantom Jets in combat from Donang Air Force Base in the early days of the Vietnam War.

Not long after graduating high school, Kathy married and gave birth to a son, Danny.

The marriage lasted four years, and when it ended, she decided to go back to school.

Quite the opposite of a low-achiever, Kathy Tom managed to navigate life as a single mother and a college student.

In fact, she graduated from Christopher Newport College in Virginia with a degree in business

administration and Magna Cum Laude.

She even made the list of who's who in American colleges and universities.

Now after a busy life of moving from place to place, it was time to settle down and stay put.

Kathy moved to Arlington, Texas, where she commuted to her day job in Dallas as a loan officer for the Small Business Administration

Disaster Assistance Division.

But even this job kept her on the move, as she was sent wherever a natural disaster had occurred.

It kept her away from home and her son.

...