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Man dies when tree falls on house during storm

Posted at 5:26 AM, Jul 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-07 16:41:28-04

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. -- A 72-year-old man is dead after firefighters in Grand Haven say a tree fell on his home while he was sleeping.

This happened just before 3:00 a.m. just off Grand Avenue at Poplar Ridge.

Larry Thon,(l) from Facebook

The man has been identified by neighbors as Larry Thon.  Neighbors say Thon was home with his wife at the time. She was not injured.

Thon's family tells FOX 17 that he grew up in Grand Rapids and went to Ottawa Hills High School. He attended Northwestern University, but decided to join the U.S. Marines and serve in Vietnam instead of pursuing a Masters degree.

Thon most recently lived in Texas and he and his wife come up to Michigan every year during the summer. We're told the house the two were staying in was Thon's grandmother's home.

In 2013, Thon rode his bike from Maine to Oregon to raise funds for a foundation that assists injured Marines. He was featured in a story by CBS News in 2015.

A wind gust exceeding 90 mph (145 kph) was reported at Grand Haven's harbor.