A LaFayette, Tn., pastor killed along with his wife and two children in a wreck on Thursday grew up in Soddy-Daisy.
The Rev. Michael Welch, pastor of the Lafayette United Methodist Church in a town hard hit by Tuesday night's storms, died along with his wife, Julie, 45, and their two children, Hannah, 11, and Jesse, 14. The family's van was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.
The Welches apparently were on their way back from visiting a person who had been injured in the tornado that took 14 lives in that community. They were apparently stalled in traffic when they were hit by a truck contracted by Wal-Mart that was carrying supplies to a relief center.
The Rev. Welch came to Lafayette three years ago after earlier working with Stephen Ministries and serving as pastor of First Christian Church in Shelbyville.
He was a 1974 graduate of Soddy Daisy High School and at 1978 graduate of UTC.
The Welches have an older son who was not with them at the time of the tragic wreck.