Keith and Molly's New Beginning

Our father, Rev. Keith Wyatt, was a Methodist minister throughout south Texas for 44 years. Our mother, Molly Martin Wyatt, was an elementary teacher and librarian for 26 years . All of our lives, we were accustomed to the appointment system in which our family would be moved every 3-5 years to a new church in a new community. After many years of living in church parsonages, our parent’s dream was to build a retirement home that was completely theirs and where we each also had rooms for our families that were finally truly ours. 39 years ago they purchased acreage in Fredericksburg to prepare for a home for their retirement. 

In 1999, they began the building process. They would save up a little and put it into their plans, doing some work here and there until slowly the dream became a reality after about 20 years of planning, building the shell, and finishing the inside themselves, with lots of help and sweat from sons- in-law,  grandsons, and friends. In 2014, they finally moved into what was their own home for the first time in all the years they had been married. They had rooms for the three of us, their daughters, and our families, then later added a barn/guest loft for all the grandkids, so  they had their own special place anytime they “went to the ranch”. Dad and Mom were both blessed with countless family heirlooms from their parents and grandparents of antique furniture, old pictures, handspun quilts, and all those special items that get passed on from generation to generation. Finally, surrounded by memories more than a life-time in the making, their dream home was complete, comfortable, and their own.

In the early morning hours of Mother’s Day, May 10, 2020, our parents were alerted by their dogs that something was wrong. In checking the back-porch area, they saw an eerie orange glow and then flames moving up one wall of the barn/guest loft where the grandkids always sleep. Katherine and her family were there for the weekend and Dad was able to wake the two grandsons sleeping in the barn and they barely escaped before it collapsed. By the time our father could alert Mom, Katherine and Katherine’s husband, Rick, in the house, the fire spread to the kitchen via wooden decking and quickly throughout the rest of the house. In less than 10 minutes from any notice something was wrong, the entire house was gone - demolished - with only the heat-curled sheets of the metal roof and a teetering rock fireplace recognizable. In a blink of an eye, more than 50 years of memories and cherished keepsakes of their life together had vanished, but many more years and generations of family remembrances. Everyone got out with only the clothes they had worn to bed. Mom was able to get her purse and Dad’s billfold, Katherine got her purse, but her husband and kids lost everything else they had brought for the weekend.

We all thank God that no lives were lost, but many lives have been altered forever. Our parents are now  having to start over from scratch. This is a huge hurdle at any age, but in retirement it feels overwhelming. They are determined to stay on the property and rebuild something, though it will never compare to what was lost. In the meantime, they have no place to settle or live, few belongings of any kind left. 

We are starting this GoFundMe campaign to try to help them get enough resources to start getting back on their feet. Our parents have spent their lives giving to others - Dad being “on call” at every hour of the day and night to assist when parishioners were in need; Now, they are in need. It will be a long road but having some extra resources at this critical time will help them with not only their physical recovery, but their mental and emotional healing as well. 

Prayers are something they are gratefully receiving at this time and will continue to need in the days and months ahead. 

Thanks to any of you that take the time to read our story and/or help fund our campaign. 

Amy Wyatt Atkinson, Katherine Wyatt Laird, Rebecca Wyatt Dueitt