Mom, 4-year-old die in fire that dad and son survive, NC officials say. ‘Horrific’
Valarie Welch was a North Carolina mom known for sharing a passion for the outdoors with her 4-year-old daughter Luna.
“She had a deep love for hiking and the great outdoors,” the woman’s loved ones wrote. “Going on nature adventures with her family and introducing her children to the wonders of the natural world brought her immense joy.”
But the mother and daughter’s lives were cut short when they were killed in a “horrific” house fire. The two were trapped in a room and couldn’t get to safety early Saturday, Nov. 4, according to a joint obituary and a GoFundMe page that says it’s raising money for the family.
“Valarie and Luna were so pure and loving,” their obituary on the Bryant-Grant Funeral Home and Crematory website said. “The world is so much dimmer now without them.”
Two of the Welch’s dogs also died the day of the fire. Now, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office is asking for people to help the surviving family members — Valarie Welch’s husband and their 2-year-old son.
“The family has lost everything in the fire,” deputies wrote Nov. 4 in a Facebook post. “Items they could use may include: winter clothes, diapers, toys, household items, etc.”
The sheriff’s office was called to the fire at about 2 a.m. on Nov. 4. It was reported at a home in the Franklin area, roughly 70 miles southwest of the popular mountain destination of Asheville.
Now, Valarie Welch is being remembered as a “loving wife and mother” in her mid 20s.
“The moon and the stars were a wonder she couldn’t get enough of,” according to the post on the funeral home website. “She was a loving soul, who was immune to judgment, and determined to live the life she wanted.”
Luna enjoyed bubbles and often took note of her surroundings. She also “loved her mommy more than anything.”
“She was so smart she had all shapes, colors, and letters of the alphabet down pat,” the obituary said. “She craved knowledge subconsciously, and always wanted to understand how anything worked.”
Deputies told McClatchy News in an email that an investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing as of Nov. 7. The blaze isn’t believed to be related to the recent wildfires in Western North Carolina, which have prompted an air quality alert for several mountain counties, including Macon.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 5:21 AM with the headline "Mom, 4-year-old die in fire that dad and son survive, NC officials say. ‘Horrific’."
