A Marshallville family and his community are mourning the loss of a devoted father, loving husband and son and “a farm boy at heart.”
Stefan Reed Hostetler, 31, died in an accident Wednesday, March 5, at the family dairy farm along Fulton Road. According to a information from the Marshallville Police Department, he drowned in a manure pit after the tractor he was on tipped over.
His brothers, Aidan Hostetler and Lee Hostetler, acted quickly in an attempt to save him.
“They desperately tried to save Reed Hostetler,” said Robyn Baer Hostetler, Reed’s mother, on Monday. “They were very smart about it. They tried. … I think Lee maybe wanted to go after him, but Aidan wouldn’t let him.”
Services for Reed Hostetler, shown with his wife, Abby, and two of their children, will begin with visitation 3-6 p.m. Tuesday with the furneral service at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
She said a tractor was used to try to find him in the manure lagoon. “By that time, the EMTs came,” said his mother, who was in South Carolina when they got the call about the accident.
As they made the long drive home, she found solace in the support from the community.
Reed Hostetler was family man and farmer with a taste for adventure
“I think there were 40 people stationed at my mom’s house, praying, 40 or more actually,” she said. “I know there were quite a few people with Abby at the hospital praying.”
Reed Hostetler was the husband of Abby and father to their three children, Baer, Clarie and Ax.
His life revolved around the dairy farm, where he worked alongside his parents, as well as his siblings and wife.
“All my kids stayed at the farm,” Robyn Baer Hostetler said. “Every day we come in and we all sit at the dining room table for lunch at a 12-foot table, and we fill it up.”
For Reed Hostetler, family meals were more than a break from work. They were a time to reconnect.
“After we would eat, they would all get on the floor, wrestle around, play, have just some good family time. And that was extremely special to him,” his mother said.
Beyond the farm, Reed Hostetler was ambitious and adventurous.
He hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, rode bulls, a passion sparked by the 1994 movie” 8 Seconds,” and spent months doing mission work in Thailand.
“Most people go there and fall in love with the children,” Robyn Baer Hostetler said. “But the children all fell in love with him.”
Community united in grief and healing
From the moment word got out about Reed Hostetler’s death the family was surrounded by friends and neighbors, and even strangers who stepped in to help in countless ways.
“Reed Hostetler was a farm boy at heart, and he would also really enjoy probably his celebration of life being here,” Robyn Baer Hostetler said. “I had a team of people show up. … They just took care of it. They just cleaned that barn.”
Others arrived to fix the driveways and bring food for the farm crew.
“The amount of community in every aspect. It is overwhelming to be just so loved and supported. I just want to tell them, thank you,” she said.
Reed Hostetler was a devoted father, a loyal friend and a man of deep faith.
Services on Tuesday and Wednesday
“We know without a doubt Reed Hostetler is in the presence of Jesus,” his family wrote in his obituary. “And even though our hearts hurt, we know God is still good.”
Visitation will be held 3-6 p.m. Tuesday at L&R Dairy Farm, 12599 Fulton Road, Marshallville, which he co-owned.
The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the farm with Pastor Ryan Klotzle officiating.
Support for the family can be sent to their GoFundMe.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Reed Hostetler died at Marshallville farm after tractor tipped over
