From the Grand Rapids (MI), Press:
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-
29/1147719908256420.xml&coll=6
Business owner dies after 25K run
GRAND RAPIDS -- After running the Fifth Third River Bank Run for the
first time -- and beating his dad -- 14-year-old Simon VanLangevelde ran
back onto the course so he and his father could finish the race together.
At the finish line of Saturday's 25K run, the Holland father and son
embraced. "We did it," said the father, David VanLangevelde.
Moments later in a nearby parking lot, the 47-year-old man collapsed and
died of an apparent heart attack as his son tried to save his life.
Simon will always remember the finish line.
"That will always be the thing I remember -- the last father-son bond,"
he said today. "I know I'll forget all those bad parts."
VanLangevelde, a prominent Grand Rapids businessman and the father of
five children, had no known medical problems, said his brother-in-law,
Brian Broekhuizen.
"It's one of life's crazy contradictions," Broekhuizen said. "You're in
good enough shape to run a race, and you die walking back to your car."
VanLangevelde and his son trained for several months for the race.
"We enjoyed just being able to run together," said Simon, an eighth-
grader at South Shore Christian Middle School in Holland. "Just last week
he said, 'It's not the big family vacations that you remember, it's just
the special little moments,' like being able to run with me, that he
enjoyed."
Simon said his dad, who finished the race in just less than 2 1/2 hours,
complained of chest pains as they walked to the car. "He gave me the
phone. He said, 'Just in case.' "
His father bent over, stood back up, then yelled "Call, call" as he
collapsed next to their car.
With instructions from a 911 dispatcher, Simon performed CPR. His father
was pronounced dead at Spectrum Health Butterworth Campus. "I don't know
if he ever got his heartbeat back," his son said.
Doctors told relatives he likely died of a heart attack. They are
awaiting autopsy results.
Race officials were stunned by the death.
"It was such a positive day, ... then you hear about one of our runners
dying after the race," said Greg Meyer, River Bank Run recruiter. "My
heart goes out to the son. He ran with his dad. They were doing something
they wanted to do together. Something that should be good to do
together."
"That death is sickening. It's touched a lot of us," said River Bank Run
director Kristen Aidif. She said she heard rumors Saturday someone had
been transported to a hospital.
"But no one, including our medical people, received any confirmation on
it, because no one was in need of an ambulance on the course," she said.
Another runner died after the River Bank Run in 1982. Thomas Guerre, a
29-year-old from East Lansing, suffered a heart attack and collapsed at
the finish line.
"Running doesn't make you immune to health issues," Meyer said.
VanLangevelde owned WorkSquared Inc., the state's largest Herman Miller
Inc. dealership, located next to Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand
Rapids.
Friends and relatives of VanLangevelde said he was an athlete who played
basketball and previously had run the 15 1/2-mile River Bank race. He
coached boys basketball at Holland Christian middle schools.
"He loved playing basketball with his boys, " Scott Kline, vice president
of sales at WorkSquared, said.
"Dave was a man of complete integrity. It's unwavering," Kline said. "I
lost a friend, a mentor and the leader of our organization."
VanLangevelde was a devoted Christian, said Broekhuizen. "That permeated
everything he did: Being a husband, being a father to five children," he
said.
VanLangevelde started his career at Meridian Furniture in 1985 before the
company was purchased by Herman Miller. He owned Herman Miller
dealerships in Chicago and West Michigan before launching WorkSquared.
"It is a great loss for the company," said Herman Miller spokesman Mark
Schurman, who attended church with VanLangevelde in Holland. "Obviously,
our thoughts are with his wife and family."
He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Laurie, and their children:
Simon, Gabe, Josie, Leah and Luke.
Other family members include his father, Gerrit VanLangevelde, two
brothers, and his in-laws, Ren and Elsa Prince-Broekhuizen, all of
Holland.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at
Ridge Point Community Church, 340 104th Ave., Holland. A memorial
service, open to all, will be held at the church after a private burial.