Michigan man publishes obituary while still alive
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Michigan man has published his own obituary and scheduled his own memorial service after stopping cancer treatment.
Bob Eleveld, 80, announced this week that he will host a "celebration of life" open house on Saturday in lieu of a funeral. Eleveld also published an obituary on March 12 with the date range "8/3/1936 - Not Yet," the Grand Rapids Press (http://bit.ly/2nh2RrT ) reported.
"Yes this is unconventional, and yes some people think it's a little weird," Eleveld's daughter, Kerry Eleveld, said. But she added that having an end-of-life party fits her father's personality perfectly.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Long before he had cancer, he would always say, 'Don't throw a funeral for me. Have a party,'" she said. "This feels like the perfect way to honor my father, because it's the way he wants to do it. It seems perfectly fitting."
Bob Eleveld is a Grand Rapids attorney who has also been involved in politics as a local Republican Party chairman, a state representative candidate and a member of the East Grand Rapids City Commission. He began treatment for a rare form of leukemia in May 2015, but has now stopped.
"Hel-'LO'! This is Bob Eleveld," his obituary begins. "As I write this notice, I am still with you, although my doctors have informed me that this status will change in the near future. I have decided, however, to eschew the normal process of others celebrating my life after I die and, instead, would like to celebrate your lives with me."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kerry Eleveld said her father's celebration plans raise questions about how people deal with death.
"I do think there is a lot more thought now nationally about what end of life means, about how we should approach it and what's meaningful and what isn't," she said. "And if there's a better way of doing this than we've been doing it."
___
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Information from: The Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids