Thomas Nartker was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. He attended grade school and high school there, and then attended the University of Dayton. He majored in chemical engineering. By the time Nartker was a sophomore in college, He had already been accepted for graduate study at the University of Tennessee.
Mary Dale Deacon was born in El Paso, Texas, and grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Her father was a Presbyterian minister. Deacon and her older sister and younger brother all attended grade school and high school in Las Cruces.
Melva Jean O'Neill (née Davis) was born on October 21, 1951, in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Melva married Layton on December 19, 1979. Melva had one child going into the marriage: Amy and Layton had five children going into the marriage: Marilyn, Colleen, Mike, Jenny, and Dennis.
O'Neill was employed as a homemaker but had previously worked as a waitress and motel desk clerk.
See historical note at https://www.libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1927.htm
"District 38 of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) coordinated activities throughout the western United States from 1942 to circa 1985. During the following decade, Hawaii, Alaska, Utah, Colorado, and the Northwest remained within District 38, while California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico transferred into a newly created District 39. This district of the USWA ceased operations as District 38 on June 1, 1995, when a district restructuring took effect."