SLT man dies after construction accident
Thu, Nov 19, 2009 
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BY MARK BROOKY
mbrooky@grandhaventribune.com
Jerry Pell loved building and working with his hands, his daughter said.
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"He loved his work every day," Kristin Hamilton said of her father. "He was so passionate about it."
It was while on the job at a construction site in southern Allegan County on Tuesday that the Spring Lake Township man suffered injuries that led to his death.
Pell, 51, died at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo shortly after midnight Wednesday, according to police.
Pell was working for David C. Bos Homes on the construction of a home in Casco Township, said Lt. Mike Larsen of the Allegan County Sheriff's Department. Pell was inside the cage of a SkyTrak — a forklift vehicle with a long arm used to lift equipment to high areas, Larsen said — when the vehicle hit loose sand and tipped over shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Pell fell approximately 20-30 feet, Larsen said, and other construction workers performed CPR on him until South Haven-area emergency personnel arrived on the scene. The emergency medical personnel found "a faint pulse," and Pell was taken by ambulance to South Haven Community Hospital, Larsen said.
According to Larsen, a doctor at the South Haven hospital said Pell suffered heavy trauma to his head and neck in the fall, and he was taken to the Kalamazoo hospital where he died at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident. A MIOSHA spokesman said the state agency investigates all workplace fatalities.
Pell was a foreman for David C. Bos Homes, where he worked for 22 years. He grew up on a family farm in Fremont and moved to Spring Lake Township in 1988.
"He built the house we're living in," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said her father enjoyed working outside every chance he got; helped his son, Scott, in his lawn care business; and loved to play games both inside and outside. He was a member of Second Christian Reformed Church of Grand Haven and served on the Western Michigan Christian High School Building Committee. He also served as a counselor for his church's Cadet program, which is similar to Boy Scouts, for three years.
"He was absolutely joyful, always full of fun," Hamilton said. "... He was a friend to all."
Pell is survived by his wife of 30 years, Nancy (Kinkema); their two children, Scott (Jennifer) Pell of Hudsonville and Kristin (Daniel) Hamilton of Ann Arbor; a granddaughter, Addison Pell; his parents, Marvin and Jessie Pell; three brothers: John (Pat) Pell, Randy (Ann) Pell, and Rodney (Sharon) Pell; and a sister, Julie (Steve) Bouwkamp.
A memorial service will be held at Second Christian Reformed Church in Grand Haven at 11 a.m. Saturday. Visitation with the family will take place at VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home in Grand Haven from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Friday.
