Married on the Fourth of July

Amid the rocket's red glare and the fireworks bursting in air, Jeannie Panton and William Deakyne were married on the Fourth of July. Earlier in the day, to the rousing beat of The Stars and Stripes Forever and Seventy-Six Trombones, they shared their joy with the entire city aboard a wedding float in Arlington's annual Independence Day parade.

William Deakyne and former Student Congress president Jeannie Panton ('98 BA) entered a wedding float in Arlington's annual Fourth of July Parade. The couple were married later that evening.

Panton (now Deakyne), an Army 1st lieutenant who graduated from UTA in 1998, had dreamed of a July 4th wedding since she was a little girl.

"I remember thinking,'What a great day to have a wedding,' " she said. "We'll have fireworks every year."

The date seemed even more attractive when she became engaged to fellow 1st Lt. William Deakyne. "At least we both knew we'd have the day off," she said, "since it's a federal holiday."

The couple met while stationed at Fort Polk, La. One of Jeannie's jobs involved briefing other officers, including William. She made a great impression on him, but he didn't register much with her at first.

"I was new to the Army and Fort Polk," she said. "I was so overwhelmed with meeting new people every day that he blended in with the rest of the camouflage and crew-cuts. You never really think about it, but everyone wears the same outfit and they have the same haircut, so for me it was just part of work and I didn't really remember him."

William made sure that soon changed. He arranged to meet her and found out that she loves yellow cake. So, in one of his first attempts at baking, he made a yellow cake-from scratch. It wasn't a big success, but the relationship was, and they became engaged in June 2000.

Jeannie knew she would need plenty of time to prepare for a wedding back home in Arlington. By August, she and William had selected the date and decided to join the city's celebration with a wedding float in the annual parade.

"I believe that when Jeannie was about 8 years old, she saw the parade go by and thought to herself, 'Some day I'll have a float,' " William said. "This presented itself as a good opportunity."

In the days before the wedding, family and friends from as far away as Indiana, Ohio, Arizona and California filled the Panton house with bouquets and banners. Jeannie's dad, UTA finance and real estate Professor Don Panton, was a bit overwhelmed. "We had a big church wedding and a float in the parade and people coming from all over," he said.

"But, it's our first and only daughter."

Jeannie's mom, Debbie, designed the T-shirts that family members wore in the parade, and one of William's aunts made the guitar-shaped groom's cake. Crowned with a Cleveland Rocks sign, it honored his hometown and its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Jeannie, a former UTA Student Congress president, enlisted her college friends to help as well, and many also walked or rode in the parade. Kerri Ressl, now the UTA Alumni Association assistant director, walked alongside the wedding float.

"It's definitely a Fourth of July I'll never forget," Ressl said. "From the rehearsal the night before, to the parade that morning, to the old-fashioned wedding reception, I'll always remember it."

People nudged each other, smiled, clapped and cheered all along the route as the party rolled past. And Jeannie appreciated it all on her special day.

Two Army officers, a beautiful wedding float-and a lifetime of fireworks to come.

- SWN