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The Memory of a beloved military husband inspires those left behind to reach out Story by Felicia Frazar Photos by Felicia Frazar and Chris Krossing Foundation
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onna Kiernan and her husband, Staff Sgt. Chris Kiernan, had a dream of owning land in the country and having a bunch of animals when he retired from the military. But those dreams were put on hold as Donna’s worst nightmare came to life a year-and-a-half before he was able to retire. Her husband was killed in action May 6, 2007, in Iraq while serving with the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Eventually, her grief led her to help other families and create the Chris Krossing Foundation. Those plans took time. A year after Chris’s death, Donna purchased five acres in southeast Guadalupe County and named the property Chris Krossing Ranch in honor of her husband. “It’s his initials,” she said. “It took me a really long time to function. I was in so much grief that I didn’t do much; I didn’t socialize. I didn’t get the animals we talked about; I got two donkeys and a goat. Then, I started to get horses and, eventually, I had eight horses.” Donna found her way back to the light through her animals, especially the 10 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING
horses. So as a member of the Survivor Outreach Services, Donna began reaching out to other military families like her, those who had lost a loved one, also known as Gold Star families. “The horses brought life back into me, so I wanted to share them, and that experience with other families that I knew were Gold Star families,” she said. “Because I belonged to Survivor Outreach Services, I was able to reach out to other family members and invite them to come and experience the horses.” In 2015, Donna hosted her first Survivors’ Kids day, bringing families to the Chris Krossing Ranch and giving the children a day to play, ride horses and have fun. Donna reached out to people she knew with horses to see if they would come out and help, including the True Women Drill Team. Donna said that all of them volunteer their time and their horses for the children. “We cook for these kids; they have lunch; we bring out a snow cone truck,” she said. “They can have as many snow cones as they want. We rarely say no. We always say yes.” Volunteers help pony the horses, a
