Pastor Steve Witte, an American missionary with WELS Asia, has died, alongside his daughters, Lydia Witte and Charis Kuehl, Kuehl’s daughter Stella, and two other grandchildren; in a fire in Wisconsin Dells.
The family was vacationing at a rental property when a fire broke out and six members died.
Other family members survived and are currently receiving treatment, but the horrible death toll from the tragedy has stunned many and raised questions over this turn of events.
Pastor Steve Witte, Lydia Witte, Charis Kuehl, Stella Kuehl, Lena Henselin, and Merci Henselin, Death of Six Extended Family Members in Wisconsin Dells Fire Sparks Grief
Pastor Steve Witte, an American missionary pastor with decades of experience evangelizing in Asia, alongside his daughters Lydia Witte and Charis Kuehl, and three grandchildren, all died in a tragic house fire in Wisconsin Dells.
The family, on vacation to unwind from the toils of life, had assembled in their numbers, the good pastor and his wife, their children who brought along their spouses and some grandchildren.
The roster included Pastor Steve Witte, his 3rd daughter Lydia Witte, 2nd daughter Charis Anne Kuehl and her husband, Pastor Steven Kuehl alongside their three daughters, as well as 1st daughter Hannah Witte and her husband Karl Henselin, and their children as well.
This beautiful family gathering which was to be a time of joy and bliss turned into a bitter experience as six members of this beautiful family ended up dying.
The family had rented a vacation house near Wisconsin Dells but a fire broke out in the property leading to a massive death toll.
Six people died in the fire and an unspecified number of others got injured.
According to media reports, emergency responders were called to the property in Necedah WI for a house fire around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
The home was already engulfed in flames when they arrived and firefighters battled the blaze for three hours!
A statement from WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod), Pastor Witte’s church, announced the tragedy.
“Yesterday, we received the news of a terrible tragedy. Six members of an extended family lost their lives in a house fire at a vacation rental near Wisconsin Dells, Wis.,” the statement read.
The statement listed the deceased as:
Pastor Steve Witte, missionary in Thailand
Lydia Witte, daughter of Steve and Mary Witte
Charis Kuehl, wife of Pastor Steve Kuehl, also the daughter of Steve and Mary Witte
Stella Kuehl, daughter of Pastor Steve Kuehl and Charis
Lena Henselin, Karl and Hannah’s daughter (Hannah is the daughter of Pastor Witte)
Merci Henselin, Karl and Hannah’s youngest daughter
It added that “By God’s grace, a number of other family members survived…The pain of losing six members of one family cannot be described with words. The only thing that can begin to bring comfort in such a time of grievous loss are the words that God himself speaks to us. Those words remind us that these members of our extended WELS family are now resting in perfect joy and peace at the side of their Savior,”
Who was Charis Kuehl?
Charis Kuehl, the 2nd daughter of Pastor Steve and Mary Witte, was a sales director with Mary Kay cosmetics in Ohio.
Charis, who was married to Pastor Steve Kuehl, was a graduate of the Wisconsin Lutheran College where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication and Spanish in 2007.
For more than 11 years she has served as sales director with Mary Kay Cosmetics.
Charis and Pastor Stephen had three daughters, the youngest of which, Stella, died alongside her mother in the fire.
Thankfully, Steve and their daughters, Vera and Norah, survived.
A GoFundMe was started for the Kuehl family, which has so far raised over $25,000 out of a $50,000 goal.
Pastor Steve Witte
Pastor Steve Witte is the team lead for the Asia One Team of WELS, serving in Thailand. He is in charge of the organization’s mission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to billions of ‘unreached souls’ throughout Asia.
Previously, he was the President of Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong, a position he held from 2009 till 2023. Witte started his career as a parish pastor at Emanuel in New London, Wisconsin from 1985 till 2001 and then at Beautiful Savior in Green Bay, Wisconsin, from 2001 till 2009.
Pastor Steve married his sweetheart Mary Witte and they have been blessed with five adult children: Hannah, Charis, Seth, Lydia, and Micah; and 11 grandchildren.
The death of Rev Dr. Steve Witte floored many who shared tributes on social media.
“Everywhere he went [Steve] brought the gospel of Christ and a heart desirous to do no harm to the holy ministry and to serve God’s people…,” Benjamin Tomczak, pastor at Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, said of Pastor Witte.
The Michigan Lutheran High School, several friends and many more, all called for prayers for the Kuehl family in this difficult time.
A tragedy of this magnitude will be traumatic to navigate for any family.
At this point, one can only send prayers and best wishes to the surviving families and to help financially if possible.
May all the departed souls rest in peace.