THORNAPPLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Barry County Commissioner Dan Parker died on Friday after contracting coronavirus.
Ben Gieger, a fellow commissioner, stated that Parker had just been elected Thornapple Township Supervisor. The two held public service positions in Thronapple-Kellogg Schools and the village of Middleville.
“Our hearts are broken in losing Dan Parker,” Geiger said in a Monday statement. “But he wouldn’t want us to be sad. He would want us to find peace. In this dark hour, we can find peace in seeing his legacy all around us. It’s in the Middleville neighborhoods he helped build. It’s in parks and trails he made possible. It’s in the thriving TK School District he pushed it to be. And it’s in the hearts of people like me, who he mentored by his faith and example. Rest in peace, Dan. We won’t let your light stop shining.”
On Wednesday, there will be a visitation at St. Paul Lutheran Church near Caledonia.