Mineral Wells Couple Killed in Balloon Crash

John and Stacee Gore were celebrating wedding anniversary

Family members said a North Texas couple celebrating their third wedding anniversary were among 16 people killed Saturday in a hot air balloon disaster in Central Texas.

John and Stacee Gore had four children and were members of Calvary Baptist Church, said their pastor Marc Alcorn.

The couple from Mineral Wells, about 35 miles west of Fort Worth, were especially active with church youth groups and the tragedy is pulling the community together, Alcorn said.

"If you're on Facebook, and you look at all the comments from all the community, I mean all you see is, of course, prayer, concern, just the love the community pours out," he said.

The hot air balloon the Gores were in hit high-voltage power lines and crashed near Lockhart, authorities have said. All 16 people on board were killed.

John Gore, 33, the son of a long-time Mineral Wells doctor, worked at a plastics plant in nearby Weatherford.

Stacee Gore, 31, worked as a custodian at the church, the pastor said.

The couple each had two children โ€” three boys and one girl โ€” when they got married in 2013.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at First Baptist Church in Mineral Wells. Funeral services will be announced after the bodies are released.

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