Kelle Hein
| Kelle David Hein, Sr.
(Independent Baptist clergyman and commercial pilot who died in crash of private airplane) | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 22, 1961 Orton, Wadena County Minnesota |
| Died | March 8, 2018 Laredo, Texas |
| Political Party | Republican[1] |
| Spouse | Tammy Waldrop Hein (married 1985-2018, his death) Children: |
Kelle David Hein, Sr. (July 22, 1961 – March 8, 2018), was an Independent Baptist pastor and a commercial pilot in Laredo, Texas, who perished in an air crash near the Laredo International Airport while he was giving flight instruction to a 19-year-old student.
Kelle (pronounced KELLY) Hein was born in Orton in Wadena County in central Minnesota, the son of Wally and Darlene Fisher, who survive him. He graduated from high school in Groton in Brown County in northeastern South Dakota. In 1981, he obtained a liberal arts degree from Augustana University, then Augustana College, a Lutheran institution in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1985, he became a flight instructor and commercial pilot. He was a missionary to, first, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and then Laredo Texas. In 1999, he became pastor of Family Baptist Church in Laredo. In 2015, he received a doctoral degree from Landmark Baptist Theological Seminary in Haltom City, near Fort Worth, Texas. Thereafter, he published a book: What's the Bible Got to Do with It?[2]
Aviation officials said that Hein and his student, Robert Christopher Marshall, were in a Piper PA-31P, when for unknown reasons, the left engine of the plane began to smoke. As the pilot attempted to return to the airport, the plane went down and crashed into a nearby field. Both were killed.[3] Marshall, a sophomore at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, was the son of Robert R. and Amy Marshall, both members of the Webb Consolidated Independent School District based in Bruni in eastern Webb County. The senior Marshall, the president and chief executive officer of Marshall Aviation, an on-demand charter service for passengers and freight aircraft. The Marshalls owned the plane which went down. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.[4]
In 1985 in Waco, Hein wed the former Tammy Waldrop. There are five Hein children, Kelle Hein, Jr. (wife Colby) of Conroe, Texas; Kalen Paul Hein (wife Brandi), Kyla Hein, Kiery Hein Saldivar (husband Alejandro), and Kesha Hein, and four grandchildren. His father-in-law was the Reverend Bill Waldrop (1939-2021), a native of rural Itasca in Hill County, Texas, who was for a time pastor of the Laredo Baptist Tabernacle and an Independent Baptist missionary to Mexico and several other locations within the United States. His mother-in-law is the former Carolyn Gant.[2][5]
The deaths of the crash victims were met with disbelief and sorrow in the Laredo community. Many Facebook users commented on the tragedy. "The world lost one of the good guys," remarked one post in reference to Hein.[6]
References
- ↑ Kelle Hein. Mylife.com. Retrieved on March 21, 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dr. Kelle David Hein. The Laredo Morning Times (March 11, 2018). Retrieved on March 21, 2018.
- ↑ Robert Marshall, Kelle Hein Killed in Laredo, TX, Airplane Accident Near Laredo Airport. Texas-wrongful-death-lawyer.net (March 9, 2018). Retrieved on March 21, 2018.
- ↑ Cesar G. Rodriguez and JeriLynn Thorpe, (March 9, 2018). Officials ID victims in Laredo plane crash that killed. The Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved on March 21, 2018.
- ↑ Reverend Bill Waldrop. The Laredo Morning Times (February 19, 2021).
- ↑ JeriLynn Thorpe (March 12, 2018). Facebook mourns death of Laredo teen, preacher killed in plane crash. The Laredo Morning Times. Retrieved on March 21, 2018.
