KATY, Texas - As the investigation continues into exactly how and why a hot air balloon crashed near Austin, killing all 16 people on board, KHOU 11 is learning more information about the victims.
Three Katy residents are among the victims. Friends and family have identified them as Joe and Tresa Shafer Owens and 50-year-old Holly Huckabee.
For the past 24-years, Tresa Shafer Owens was a teacher at Tiger Land Pre-School in Katy.
“Tresa is the lady that always had an answer for everything,” explained Jane Toevs, director of Tiger Land. “She just loves all of them [children]. She loves them. She adored them. The parents see her as not only a mother but a grandmother too.”
Her husband, Joe, was also very well-known at the school. Cheryl Myer, assistant director of Tiger Land, explained that even the he had a fulltime job, he was always willing to help out.
“If something needed to be fixed here… Tresa would say, ‘Hey! I'll get Joe. Joe will be here,” said Myer.
“He's a very hard working, caring, loving person,” added Toevs.
Joe and Tresa Shafer Owens leave behind three children and four grandchildren. One of their daughters is also a teacher at the school.
The other Katy victim, Holly Huckabee, was a close friend and former teacher at Tiger Land. The three were taking the balloon ride together when it crashed.
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School officials say Huckabee also leaves behind at least one daughter, who currently teaches at Tiger Land Pre-School and was teaching partners with Tresa Shafer Owens.
“We are family and we will continue on,” Toevs said. “That's what Tresa would want us to do.”
Two GoFundMe pages have been set up to help the families with funeral costs. The page for the Shafer Owens can be found here.