A Clinton County community is mourning a heartbreaking loss as dozens gathered Wednesday to lay to rest an Amish mother and her six young children who were killed in a devastating house fire.
Family and friends gathered in Lamar Township to attend the funeral of Sarah Stoltzfus and her six young children who were tragically killed in a house fire just days ago.
Immediately following the funeral, their remains were taken by Amish precession to a nearby burial ground to be laid to rest.
Visitations were underway for days following the devastating house fire that claimed the lives of Sarah Stoltzfus and her six young children who were all under the age of 12.
In an online obituary, friends are paying tribute, remembering the family’s generosity and the joy they brought to each other and to others around them.
That same joyful spirit and heartbreak echoed by a neighbor we spoke with in the days following the tragedy.
“It’s crazy. It really is. I went by here the day before and I saw the little kids on the porch playing; the little girl and her sister laughing. It’s tough,”
Organizers throughout the community have come together in recent days, helping raise funding for David Stoltzfus, Sarah’s surviving husband — who officials say was not home at the time of the fire.
Those efforts include the nearby Old School Market and the Howard Fire Company in Centre County, which is looking to raise up to $40,000.
It’s been a somber day in Lamar Township as family members said a final goodbye. The grief being felt far and wide.
We spoke to first responders who say that all members of their departments who responded to Sunday’s blaze have been attending grief counseling sessions as they deal with the grief that they are feeling.
They say that they are now committed to helping the family in any way that they can.