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Two future New Ulm residents die in house fire

: Steven Kuehl with wife Charis and children (L to R) Vera, Stella and Norah.

NECEDAH, Wis. – Future New Ulm residents 38-year-old Charis Kuehl and 5-year-old Stella Kuehl died in a Necedah, Wisconsin house fire Sunday, June 30.

Steve and Charis Kuehl, along with their three kids Vera, Nora, and Stella, are originally from Columbus, Ohio. They were all slated to move to New Ulm as Steve Kuehl received a teaching position at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School.

In a press release, the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office stated they received a 911 call at 2:35 a.m. about the fire. The home was fully engulfed in flames when deputies arrived. After fighting the fire for three hours and remaining on scene for 12, six people were found dead. The fire is believed to be accidental. Six state and local agencies were needed in total.

Charis Kuehl’s father Steve Witte, sister Lydia Witte, and nieces Lena and Merci Henselin also died, according to a GoFundMe page for the Kuehl family organized by Andrew Naumann and Steve Kuehl. They said the extended family was vacationing, and the house was a rental.

As of July 8, over $160,000 has been raised from the GoFundMe. Naumann and Kuehl said all the money raised will be split two ways. The first half will go to immediate needs, and the second to Vera and Nora’s future education. The family is still planning to move to New Ulm.

In a statement on his personal Facebook, Steve Kuehl said he is humbled by everyone’s love and concern, and shocked by the suddenness of Charis and Stella’s deaths.

“We know for each of them, their primary identity is “child of the Heavenly Father,” he said. “By God’s grace we aren’t asking the “why” question so many others are asking, because it is entirely within the Lord’s loving will to call his beloved children home to himself in heaven; to live the Life that is truly life.”

Kuehl said even with the darkness and deep pain from what has happened, he knows the lord is still with him and his family.

“One immediate evidence of his amazing ways are the GoFundMe’s I learned about on Wednesday and have continued to grow since then,” he said. “Many thanks to the whole host of people who have helped to virtually eliminate any immediate and many future financial uncertainties due to this tragedy.”

Kuehl said the service will likely be in around two weeks for Charis and Stella Kuehl, but a date has not been finalized. He said he will post an update with more information.

To view Kuehl’s full statement, visit https://www.facebook.com/stephen.kuehl.58. To see the GoFundMe, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-steve-norah-and-vera-kuehl.

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