Watch the 3 p.m. memorial services for the late congressman on woodtv.com.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — State flags are flying at half-staff Thursday as West Michigan pays its respects to former U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers.
Beginning at 3 p.m., Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids will hold memorial services for the longtime congressman, who died at age 83 last week.
A portrait of Vern Ehlers graces the wall at the Kent County Administration Building in Grand Rapids. (Aug. 17, 2017)
Ehlers’ longtime communications director, Chris Barbee, helped plan the memorial services. He said there will be five area parking lots available for additional visitors who want to pay their respects to Ehlers.
A map showing parking options for the funeral services for former Congressman Vern Ehlers.
Supporters can also watch the live service at Sherman Street Church or on WXSP and woodtv.com.
Ehlers represented the 3rd Congressional District from December 1993 until he retired in January 2011. Fellow lawmakers say he was a kind, thoughtful and intellectual leader.
Before going to Congress, Ehlers was a four-term member of the Kent County Board of Commissioners, spent two years serving in Michigan’s House and eight years in the state Senate.
Ehlers also worked as a nuclear physicist and college professor.