LAWRENCE, Mich. — René Rangel Jr.'s family invited the public to virtually attend his funeral Monday, allowing the Van Buren County Road Commission to host a live stream of the service via Facebook.
Watch the recording of the service below:
The 58-year-old road commission worker was killed in a crash over a week ago when a car tried to pass traffic at a construction zone. Rangel was holding the sign at the beginning of the construction zone, stopping traffic at the time according to Michigan State Police. He's remembered as a pillar of the community and a friend to those who knew him.
The public was also permitted to attend the procession starting along M-51 in front of the Stark/Newell funeral home.
The processional route will continue on M-51 to CR 215, turn north on CR 215 to CR 352, turn east on CR 352 and proceed into the Village of Decatur. Family will exit the processional at the Decatur VFW. At this time the processional will pause to allow the family to park and then watch the processional go by. The processional will then continue to East Edgar Bergen Blvd (Truck route) and return to M-51. The processional will then end and attendees will disburse.
The Van Buren County Road Commission tells FOX 17 their offices will be closed Monday, allowing VBRC employees to mourn. Any calls they would normally handle should be directed to the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office, MDOT and surrounding counties will be on hand to assist.
