K atie webster brings hope in the midst of disaster

During a four-day period in late August 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in eastern Texas and southern Louisiana, dumping more than 40 inches of rain. The resulting catastrophic floods inflicted tremendous damage — destroying hundreds of thousands of homes, prompting more than 17,000 rescues, and displacing more than 30,000 people. Shortly after the storm, Fargo’s Katie Webster received a call to deploy to Houston, Texas, to help with the recovery. With a sensitive spirit and strong work ethic, Webster was eager to help the people of Texas find hope in the midst of the devastation.

Webster is used to working behind the scenes to provide relief and hope to those in the middle of a crisis. As regional recovery manager for the American Red Cross, Webster and her team serve North Dakota, South Dakota, and 10 counties in northwest Minnesota, providing assistance to approximately 1.7 million people. Each year, the Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters, including house or apartment fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents, explosions, and other natural and man-made disasters. Although the Red Cross is not a government-funded agency, it is mandated by congress to provide relief wherever it’s needed. The Red Cross deploys volunteers whenever a natural disaster strikes and they do a fantastic job of serving the people in need. Once the emergency provisions of shelter, food and health services have been met, the recovery arm of the Red Cross steps in to aid individuals and families, providing them with resources enabling them to resume their normal daily activities. In her role as regional recovery manager, Webster oversees administration and organization, providing support to help the volunteers do their job well.

While in Texas, Webster worked 14 to 20 hours per day for three weeks addressing the needs of the residents who had lost literally everything. As Webster explains, “Because my position is behind the scenes, I don’t often get to meet the clients the Red Cross serves. This time I was directly involved with people affected by the hurricane and it was so rewarding to interact with them face-to-face.”

Tough Times

Though Webster now thrives in her role helping people through times of greatest need, her life’s path was not always clear or easy. Her story begins with her parents Michael Abt and Jeanette DeLeon, who had grown up as friends and later high school sweethearts in the small town of Asherton, Texas, just 45 minutes from the Mexican border. When Michael and Jeanette married, he joined the Air Force and in the early 1980s he was stationed for a time in Mandan, North Dakota. In 1982 tragedy struck when Michael was killed in a car accident after the family had moved back to Texas. Webster, then only three years old, together with her mother and one-yearold sister Kristen, had to learn to survive on their own. Jeanette went back to college to earn her photography and commercial art degree, and eventually worked as a commercial designer for Radio Shack. “My mother was a tough woman who taught me never to give up. She often told us girls to ‘grow a backbone’ when things were hard, and that lesson stuck with me as other challenges arrived.” Jeanette eventually moved the family back to North Dakota where her happiest memories with Michael had been. She remarried, and her new husband, Perry Glatt, became a wonderful and supportive father to Webster, Kristen and eventually another sister, Kayla. They grew and thrived as a family in Bismarck.

Upon graduating from St. Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck, Webster was very unsure about what to do next. She had been a rather carefree and laid back high schooler and just did not have a sense of direction. Eventually she moved Texas to spend time with one of the most influential people in her life, her maternal grandmother, Catali- na DeLeon. DeLeon was a successful judge in Dimmitt County, Texas, and she had been a rock of stability in young Webster’s life. During her childhood, Grandma “Katie” would take time to share a cup of coffee and talk about everything imaginable. Her Christian faith and deep-rooted wisdom made a permanent impact on young Webster. Spending time with her grandma allowed a young-adult Webster the chance to begin the process of figuring out the future.

In 1999, Webster decided to pursue a career in the military. While in basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and later at tech school at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, Webster began to emerge as a leader. In this new environment she gained a reputation for being serious and dedicated, and as Webster describes it, “For the first time in my life I found something I really enjoyed. I loved my time serving in the military.” During this time, she married a fellow service man, Josh, a Marine Corps lance corporal.

Webster was just 22 years old, serving in operation resource management with the 145th Air Wing in Charlotte, North Carolina, when the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred. Soon afterward she was deployed to Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, as a communication security custodian. “Serving oversees was a tremendous challenge and I grew up fast,” explains Webster. “When I returned to the United States, I realized that I had different priorities and I wanted more out of life, so I sought opportunities for advanced training.” She moved into human resources and gained excellent experience in several different administrative roles.

Difficult Times

During this time she learned she was pregnant, and simultaneously, her husband accepted a new job which required a move to Ohio. Soon after baby Aiden was born, the couple realized Josh was simply not ready to be a parent, and they divorced. Webster moved to North Dakota to be closer to the support of family, but as a single mom working multiple jobs, life was hard. “At this vulnerable time I made a series of bad decisions.” Not yet healed from the trauma of divorce, she allowed another man, Ryan, into her life. “Looking back, I feel like I had lost my moral compass, and had become a person that I didn’t even recognize.” As Webster continues, “I felt trapped when the relationship with Ryan became extremely controlling and abusive, and I was ashamed to let anyone know what was going on.”

Eventually a breaking point came when Webster realized that if she didn’t leave, she would die. Her strong maternal instinct of protection for her son Aiden gave her the strength to flee with just the clothes on her back. When she arrived at work at David’s Bridal the next day, her boss immediate- ly called the police. They took photos of Webster over a series of days as the bruises and marks became more pronounced. Even though she was out of immediate danger, for the next year, Webster never really felt safe because of Ryan’s constant phone threats, violation of restraining orders and the ongoing court hearings and trials.

Faith Rekindled

Though that extremely dark time impacted Webster tremendously, there eventually came a turn around. The faith that had been so strong earlier in her life rekindled and she once again recognized God as the most important part of her life. Webster’s two sisters, Kristen and Kayla, began encouraging her to date. At the time, Webster was definitely not interested, but the sisters filled out an eHarmony account on her behalf and she followed up on just one match — Tom Webster. “The whole process was very thorough and pri- vate, and as time went on, I honestly shared with Tom the trauma of my past and my hopes for the future.” As their relationship grew, Webster began to feel her life turn around. She and Tom shared a deep faith commitment that helped them develop a healthy relationship. “One of the things that I appreciated about Tom was that he didn’t treat me like a victim or feel sorry for me, he simply accepted the brokenness of my past and helped me move forward.”

Tom’s unconditional love allowed Webster to heal and thrive. Not long after they were married, Tom asked Webster, “If there was anything you wanted to do, what would it be?” It had been her dream to finish college, so at age 32 she returned to the classroom. The days were long and hard balancing full-time classes and family responsibilities, but in 2012, Webster graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead with a B.A. in political science. “As I walked the stage, I could see tears in my dad’s eyes, a proud smile on my husband’s face, and my son Aiden taking pictures of me.” With their three sons, Sean, Aiden and Liam, their life today is very full and rewarding. Tom works on active duty as a readiness NCO (non-commissioned officer) for the North Dakota Army National Guard. Raising three active boys and juggling two demanding careers can sometimes be a challenge for the Webster family, but they cherish this wonderful stage of life.

Very few people in Webster’s life today even know the traumatic story that makes up her background. As she explains, “The unfortunate and negative events from my past don’t define who I am today. In fact those challenges have made me a stronger person, better able to handle difficult situations.” Though the path forward continued to have