Cary was born in Abilene in September 1960. His family first moved to the area in 1946, when his maternal grandparents – Harry and Betty Rackow—came to Abilene for two main reasons. The first was for Harry to go to school at what was then Abilene Christian College, and the second was for Betty to be in an area where horses were easily kept. In 1948, the Rackows, along with their eight-year-old daughter Nancy (Cary’s mother), moved to Buffalo Gap and purchased 45 acres for $3,000. This acreage was very rustic, and is nestled on the southeastern edge of one of the mesas in the Callahan Divide near Buffalo Gap. Within six months, the family had electricity, but still had to sacrifice comfort for the peace and quiet this little horse “patch” offered. Nancy graduated from Wylie High School in 1957, and married Carl Corthron (Cary’s father) that summer.
Carl’s family were long-time residents of Denison, Texas, where his father, Vittie, was a fireman for the Katy Railroad, which was headquartered there. Vittie and Eula (known to grandkids as “GG”) Corthron had three children, the youngest of which was Carl. When it came time for college, Carl went to Abilene Christian College, and went to church in Buffalo Gap with his sister, Nelda. There is where Carl and Nancy first met.
Shortly after marrying in 1957, Carl joined the military and was involved in radio communications. He and Nancy spent brief periods away from Buffalo Gap when he was stationed in San Antonio, Biloxi, Riverside and Edinborough. They had four children between 1958 and 1964 – Casey, Cary, Callie and Crysta. They moved back to Buffalo Gap to stay in 1961, and purchased the current house that Nancy resides in today in 1971. Carl and Nancy divorced in 1983, and both have since remarried. Carl and his wife, Dixie, built a home just southwest of Buffalo Gap, and Carl is enjoying his retirement while Dixie still works with a local CPA firm based in Abilene. Nancy married Eugene (“Gene”) Henderson in 1987, and has just retired from the Girl Scouts. Nancy and Gene are enjoying doing some remodeling of their home, which is in the center of Buffalo Gap (right behind the elementary school).
Lota was born in Littlefield, Texas in November 1959 as the youngest of three children for Lovelle and Vergil, both of whom were born in Oklahoma in 1922 and 1915, respectively. Lovelle moved with her parents, Ann and Enloe Smith, to Texas when she was a toddler. Her father was a cotton farmer and merchant in Littlefield, which is about 40 miles northwest of Lubbock. Lovelle met Vergil while he was in the military in the mid-forties, and they married in 1945. Vergil’s parents – William and Ruth - were also farmers in Oklahoma, but his father suffered a heart attack at a relatively young age. Following his death, Ruth moved to Littlefield to be near family. Vergil and Lovelle met when he was on leave visiting his mother in Littlefield. In 1973, Vergil, Lovelle and Lota moved to the ranch owned by a family member in south Taylor County, where Vergil managed the ranch. They started going to church in Buffalo Gap, where Cary and Lota met in Sunday school. For those good at math, Cary was 13 and Lota was 14 when they first met.
Cary completed high school at Wylie in 1979, and went to Abilene Christian for one year, then transferred to Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. He completed his degree in business finance in 1983. Lota finished high school at Jim Ned in 1978, and received her degree in accounting from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas in 1982.
Upon completion of their college education, both Cary and Lota moved to Dallas. They were best friends, but did not actually “date” until 1986. They married on October 13, 1990, while secretly eloping with family and friends to the northwest U.S. The actual spot of the ceremony was North Head Lighthouse near Seaview, Washington, and they have been in love with lighthouses ever since. In the summer of 1991, Cary and Lota moved to Connecticut where she worked for PepsiCo and he worked for a local credit union. In 1996, Cary changed careers, and became a professional photographer – his lifelong passion. After graduating from Hallmark Institute of Photography in 1997, they moved to Maryland where Lota went to work for Marriott and Cary opened his studio, Lighthouse Photography.
In the 10 ½ years in Maryland, they enjoyed making many friends and networking as Lota changed jobs a few times. Her last gig was as chief financial officer of MedImmune, a biotechnology company that was acquired by AstraZeneca in the summer of 2007. As a result of the acquisition, Cary and Lota are now able to enjoy their “first” retirement and pursue some of their dreams. This website is intended to catalog that pursuit for friends and family to enjoy.