New Members
Darrell & Gail Hacker were brought together by a tornado. (More on that later.) Darrell was born in Highland Park, IL. There were 10 children in his family and two of his brothers were born on the same day he was. (In other words, they’re triplets!) Darrell’s dad was in the military, so his family moved a lot. He lived in Europe three times, but mostly grew up in Wagoner, OK, southeast of Tulsa. Darrell earned an associate’s degree in Industrial Electrical Motors & Controls from Allen County Community College. He served in the Army four years and the National Guard 14 years and is a disabled veteran. Darrell worked four years for the Allen County Sheriff’s Department and four years for Kansas Fish & Game. He has been a reservist volunteer for FEMA for many years, and when he was working with them after the Greensburg tornado, he met Gail when he was staying in Wichita. Less than a year later, they were married in 2008. (That’s how a tornado brought them together.) Darrell has also worked as a Red Cross volunteer for 17 years. I should also mention that he helped his former father-in-law on his farm with cattle for 32 years. Darrell is retired now, but continues with his volunteer work. He also enjoys hunting, fishing, and working out at the Northwest YMCA with Northside member, Don Butler. Gail was born and raised in Wichita and graduated from Heights High School. She spent her summers on her grandparents’ farm in eastern Kansas. When her daughters were growing up, they participated in 4H, and Gail still loves to sew clothes and make quilts. She also likes to study stars, read, and go with Darrell on Carnival cruises. Over the years Gail has had several jobs. She worked with cattle on a farm. She worked for Walmart for 18 years as manager of two different departments (Men & Boys’ Wear and Hardware) and then trained as a pharmacy tech. Gail later worked for the VA Hospital as an IV specialist and is now retired. Between them, Darrell & Gail have five grown children and five grandchildren.
Adam & Kayti Allen are no strangers to Northside as they served as our summer youth interns in 2019 when we had no youth minister. Adam grew up in Wichita and his family came to Northside when he was 12. He graduated from Goddard High School in 2017 and from Oklahoma Christian in 2021 with a degree in youth and family ministry. As a senior, Adam won the dean’s award for youth & family ministry. Kayti was born and raised in Norman, OK, and graduated from OC in 2020 with a degree in vocal music performance and a minor in vocal music education. Adam & Kayti met when they sang together in OC’s Chamber Singers. They also performed together in the annual Cabaret at OC and even got to perform with the Cabaret singers on a cruise ship! Kayti also performed in several musicals at OC and had the lead in two. She hosted Spring Sing twice. She also performed at Steinway Hall in New York. Before they married in May, 2021, Adam worked as a youth ministry intern for Memorial Church of Christ in Houston and Kayti worked at the Memorial Road Sunshine Preschool in Edmond and at OC’s Student Success Center. They have served as house parents at Carpenter Place for two years, and Kayti teaches weekly music classes there. Adam enjoys disc golf and fishing and together they enjoy watching movies and travelling. They’ve gone to New York, Disneyworld, Honduras, and Mexico. They also enjoy their chihuahua named Poppy.