HOLLAND, MI (WHTC) – Finding the right words to say after an unthinkable loss may be one of the toughest things that any grieving parent may face.
That was the task that Matt and Kelli Hoeksema took on when they addressed a few reporters outside of Christ Memorial Church on Thursday afternoon, nearly four days after their 16-year-old son Riley was thrown from an inflatable hulled boat on Lake Michigan. The younger Hoeksema’s body was recovered on Wednesday afternoon in several feet of water near Holland State Park, and the parents made a brief statement of thanks for the outpouring of support from the community in the wake of Riley’s death.
The statement came prior to a three-hour visitation at the church, with an 11 AM funeral service at the church slated for Friday.
