Although Katie Ellis and Jason Frank met at Arlington High School in 2000 when she was a freshman and he was a junior, there was something at that time that Katie didn’t know: Jason had seen her photograph in a yearbook and, without knowing her, had begun to tell his friends that this was the girl he would marry.
Katie and Jason finally met when she had been talking to his sister. The two girls were talking about whom they had a crush on.
“She told me that I should really look at her brother,” Katie said.
The next day Katie and Jason saw each other. She was embarrassed. A friend asked her who the boy was.
“I said, ‘Jason,’ and kept on walking,” Katie said.
The two got to know each other but dating was difficult as neither one of them had a driver’s license and their parents had to give them rides.
Six months later Jason got his license and the pair had their first official date at the river.
Katie Ellis and USMC Cpl. Jason Frank, both of Arlington, plan a July 12 wedding at a friend’s home in Arlington.
Their parents are Dudley Ellis of Arlington, Brad Davidson of Everett, and Rob and Carrie Frank of Arlington. Katie’s dog Chloe, a red heeler cattle dog, will also be in the wedding party.
When he graduated from high school, Jason went into landscaping. When Katie graduated in 2004, Jason joined the U.S. Marine Corps. As she went to Washington State University, he went to boot camp.
“I was supportive,” Katie said. “I didn’t want him to join but I understood why he did.”
Jason was sent to Iraq, and while he was there he wrote to Katie every day. He also had a little Barbie Doll that looked like Katie that sat on the dashboard of his Humvee.
During his time in Iraq, Jason was honored with many medals, including the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal. Jason, who is stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., will leave the military in August and study at WSU. Katie will graduate in December with a degree in agricultural communications.
When Jason came home for leave at Christmas 2005, he kept telling Katie that he wanted to play in snow. He woke her up at 5 or 6 a.m. on Dec. 23 and, not being a morning person, she was very angry. With the help of Jason’s mom, they packed a lunch and headed to Mount Baker.
Once there Katie took a nap in the truck. They then built a snowman and a snowwoman. While Katie sipped her chicken noodle soup, Jason went back to the truck to get his camera.
“He was gone for a while. I knew he was up to something but had no idea what,” Katie said.
Jason came back up the hill and suggested that Katie come with him to look at a statue. She told him that she knew there wasn’t one, so he threw her over his shoulder and started running down the hill.
When they got to their destination, it was where they had built the two snow people. The snowman had a carrot nose, was on one knee and was dressed in Jason’s camouflage clothes. His hands, made from twigs, held a ring out to Katie. The snowwoman was dressed in WSU clothes. Her twig hands were held up to her mouth.
Katie describes Jason as being down to earth and a good-hearted man. She loves him very much.
“I feel spoiled,” Katie said. “I really do. It’s unbelievable.”
For more information on Love Story, call Christina Harper at 425-339-3491 or e-mail harper@heraldnet.com.
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