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Michigan man dies, day after event to celebrate his life

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    In this photo taken July 22, 2002, Wayne Creelman, left, gives his view on a question as Bob Eleveld listens a the GVSU Eberhardt Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. Eleveld, 80, has published his own obituary and scheduled his own memorial service after stopping cancer treatment. He announced that he will host a "celebration of life" open house on Saturday, March 18, 2017, in lieu of a funeral. (Yuli Wu/The Grand Rapids Press via AP) (The Associated Press)

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    In this undated photo, from left to right, Marty Allen,Bob Eleveld and R.T. Brown pose for a photo in Grand Rapids, Mich. Eleveld, 80, has published his own obituary and scheduled his own memorial service after stopping cancer treatment. He announced that he will host a "celebration of life" open house on Saturday, March 18, 2017, in lieu of a funeral. (Dianne Carroll-Burdick/The Grand Rapids Press via AP) (The Associated Press)

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    In this undated photo, Grand Rapids attorney Bob Eleveld speaks during the first meeting of the Men's Alliance for Progress at Aquinas College's Kretschmer Auditorium in Grand Rapids, Mich. Eleveld, 80, has published his own obituary and scheduled his own memorial service after stopping cancer treatment. He announced that he will host a "celebration of life" open house on Saturday, March 18, 2017, in lieu of a funeral. (Noel Webley II/The Grand Rapids Press via AP) (The Associated Press)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A Michigan lawyer and Republican activist has died, a day after hundreds of people responded to his published invitation to attend an open house to celebrate his life.

Bob Eleveld died Sunday at age 80. He was too ill from cancer to attend the event Saturday at a Grand Rapids-area golf club. Guests ate roast beef and shrimp and wrote messages that were delivered to Eleveld by family members.

His partner, Michelle McIsaac, says the reception fulfilled Eleveld's wishes. She says, "He went out with a bang." A daughter, Kerry Eleveld, says there was an "outpouring of love" in the room.

On March 12, Eleveld published his obituary and announced the open-house celebration in The Grand Rapids Press. His family called it a "no-bit" because he was still alive.

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Information from: The Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids