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Hospice patient first to experience new Grand Haven pier

Closed for nearly two years, Emmanuel Hospice patient Chuck Ek received permission to use the rebuilt south pier in Grand Haven one-day before it opened to the public.

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – The south pier in Grand Haven is expected to open to the public Friday Aug. 17, after crews put the final touches on the $3,500,000 project Thursday.

The pier has been closed to walkers for nearly two years as the Army Corps of Engineers fixed cracks in the pier.

The pier should re-open around noon Friday. A "no trespassing" sign hangs on a construction fence with a gate keeping people off the pier.

On Thursday, Aug. 16, Grand Rapids Hospice patient Chuck Ek received permission to use the pier one-day before anyone else. Ek’s son Dan was among the workers who fixed the pier.

Chuck’s final wish to nurses at Emmanuel Hospice was to visit the pier and inspect first hand his son’s work. Dan Ek had been sending his father, Chuck, photos of the work site.

But seeing it in person is different. "We wanted to get him out here," said Carolyn Ek-Schneider, Chuck’s daughter.

Her father is 87 years old, and his health if failing. "He has had a lot of mini strokes, he has a blood disorder too,” said Ek-Schneider.

Chuck’s wife of 64 years, Marlene, said their son Dan works for the company hired to provide cement to the job site. Those deliveries were by barge. "He had the big cement truck on the barge,” said Marlene Ek.

Dan was working at a different job site Thursday. He was not able to join his father’s trip to the pier. Chuck and Marlene’s other son Chuck, and daughter Carolyn were there for the adventure.

Nicole Sharp, Director of Community Outreach and Marketing for Emmanuel Hospice, said it’s the kind of wish nurses and staff love to grant. "How do you want to live, what do you want this time in your life to look like and how can we help you and your family achieve that," asked Sharp.

Currently, people walking the pier are stopped at the construction gate, but workers greeted Ek and opened the gate, allowing him to travel the length of the new pier.

Ek’s children now have another tale to tell about their father, and the new title he now has. "He was the first one on the new pier, he was happy," said son Chuck.

Chuck worked in construction like his son Dan. He spent his career as a sheet metal worker. For a time he was employed at Walt Disney World, and even built his family a home in Florida.

LifeEMS, donated transportation services for the pier visit. A trip to Grand Haven that also included a stop at Pronto Pup for some world-famous hot dogs before departing.

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