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Nurturing Growth

in Faith, Family & Business


It’s safe to say FVL Alumni, Chad (1993) and Katie (1992) Wolfrath know quite a bit about growth. The couple own and operate Wolrath’s Nursery and Landscaping, located in Hortonville, WI. The business, which now boasts one of the area’s largest selections of top quality nursery stock, was started by Chad’s father, Robert (Bob) Wolfrath in 1965 as a tree nursery, which only took on small planting jobs. Chad worked there from a young age through high school. After receiving a degree in horticulture, Chad returned to the family business, working mainly in design and in overseeing the landscaping side of the business. In 2010, Chad purchased the business, and since then it has shown tremendous growth—nearly tripling in size with an expanded design/build, which now includes larger outdoor living spaces, irrigation systems, and a large maintenance division.

Pale green leaf shape in the background with the senior photos of Katie and Chad Wolfrath

We are so grateful
to have FVL for our kids.

While Chad’s wife briefly helped out with the marketing and bookkeeping aspects of the family business, Katie (née Wiegman) Wolfrath’s career journey involved a different kind of growth. 


Enrolling in MLC upon graduation from FVL, Katie trained to become a WELS teacher. Her first call was to teach 4th grade at Bethlehem, Hortonville. Over the years, Katie has taught full time or in a subbing capacity at many school and age levels throughout the Fox River Valley. Since 2020, she’s been back in a classroom full time at Immanuel, Greenville, teaching the level she started with and most enjoys: 4th grade.



Chad and Katie first met at FVL, so for them, the school holds more memories than just the classes, sports, and activities that they participated in. When asked to reflect on his high school experience, Chad admitted, “The teachers really cared about us as students, and I didn’t feel like it was just a job to them. I probably didn’t realize it that much at the time, but looking back now it’s pretty eye opening.” The faith, values, and learning that the Wolfrath’s were exposed to during high school have had a lasting impact on them.


When their children—they have three—reached high school age, they were enrolled in FVL. “This was never even a question for us,” they said. “It was just a given that our kids would attend FVL.”

Family photo of the Wolfrath family standing in front of snowy trees

Wolfrath family from left to right - Hannah (2018), Chad (1993), Katie (1992), Grant (2026), and Ellyse (2021).

When asked to share their thoughts on FVL’s role in the growth of their children the couple had this to say: “When you see the situations that teens are dealing with these days, we can’t imagine sending them to a place where the teachers are not guiding, loving, motivating, and disciplining from the same Christian perspective that we are in the home. It really is a partnership between the school and the family in that sense. That is why having an area Lutheran high school is such a blessing for parents! We are so grateful to have FVL for our kids. We also see how FVL fits such a variety of needs and interests. For us, and for most families, each kid is unique! We had our first child who was involved in choir, drama, musical, etc., while our second daughter was sports minded. Now, child number three is a sophomore, and we are confident he is finding his niche as well.”


—Matthew Foxen

FVL Communications Director

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