By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
A former Zeeland city councilman and Ottawa County drain commissioner was killed Monday in a crash on Interstate 196 in Saugatuck Township.
Paul Geerlings was killed in the crash about 1 p.m. in the northbound lanes of the expressway near 68th Street. Geerlings was 82 years old.
A preliminary investigation by Michigan State Police from the Wayland Post indicated a vehicle rear-ended a semi tractor-trailer that had stopped because of traffic congestion. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi was not hurt.
Michigan State Police did not release the name of the driver, but sources close to the Zeeland Record said Geerlings was the driver.
Born and raised on a farm south of Zeeland, Geerlings attended Zeeland Christian School and graduated from Holland Christian High School in 1962. His father was a longtime supervisor in Zeeland Township, according to a Zeeland Record story in 1997.
Geerlings served in the U.S. Navy with the Seabees from 1968 until 1970 as a construction equipment maintenance mechanic, with tours of duty in Vietnam, Cuba and Puerto Rico, according to the Zeeland Record story.
After his military service, Geerlings owned and operated Doc’s Auto Sales in Hamilton for 10 years, and then later became operations manager with TLC Freight in Zeeland.
In 1987, Geerlings ran for the City Council and was elected, finishing third among four candidates. He served four years on the council.
Then in 2000, Geerlings ran for Ottawa County drain commissioner. In the Republican primary, he won a four-way race, capturing 37.8 percent of the more than 25,000 votes cast and finishing nearly 1,500 votes ahead of his nearest competitor. He then ran unopposed in the November general election.
Geerlings served three four-year terms as drain commissioner before retiring in 2012.
Funeral arrangements for Geerlings were incomplete at the time the Zeeland Record went to press.
Zeeland Record
A former Zeeland city councilman and Ottawa County drain commissioner was killed Monday in a crash on Interstate 196 in Saugatuck Township.
Paul Geerlings was killed in the crash about 1 p.m. in the northbound lanes of the expressway near 68th Street. Geerlings was 82 years old.
A preliminary investigation by Michigan State Police from the Wayland Post indicated a vehicle rear-ended a semi tractor-trailer that had stopped because of traffic congestion. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi was not hurt.
Michigan State Police did not release the name of the driver, but sources close to the Zeeland Record said Geerlings was the driver.
Born and raised on a farm south of Zeeland, Geerlings attended Zeeland Christian School and graduated from Holland Christian High School in 1962. His father was a longtime supervisor in Zeeland Township, according to a Zeeland Record story in 1997.
Geerlings served in the U.S. Navy with the Seabees from 1968 until 1970 as a construction equipment maintenance mechanic, with tours of duty in Vietnam, Cuba and Puerto Rico, according to the Zeeland Record story.
After his military service, Geerlings owned and operated Doc’s Auto Sales in Hamilton for 10 years, and then later became operations manager with TLC Freight in Zeeland.
In 1987, Geerlings ran for the City Council and was elected, finishing third among four candidates. He served four years on the council.
Then in 2000, Geerlings ran for Ottawa County drain commissioner. In the Republican primary, he won a four-way race, capturing 37.8 percent of the more than 25,000 votes cast and finishing nearly 1,500 votes ahead of his nearest competitor. He then ran unopposed in the November general election.
Geerlings served three four-year terms as drain commissioner before retiring in 2012.
Funeral arrangements for Geerlings were incomplete at the time the Zeeland Record went to press.
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