The congregation of a church in Aylmer has been left in shock after the death of Reverend Alvin Korvemaker in a crash on Saturday.
Korvemaker died after being involved in a collision with an SUV while riding his bicycle along Buis Line near Springwater Road in Central Elgin.
People who knew the reverend say it still hasn't quite sunk in yet. But he's being remembered as a man dedicated to his family, and his church.
Brian Hiemstra of Bethel United Reform Church says “I think even now everybody just says ‘Is it really real? Did it really happen?’”
The 49-year-old is being described as a man who loved his wife and three children, and was passionate about his job.
Korvemaker had been the reverend at Bethel United Reform Church in Aylmer for the past 12 years.
“He's very much a people's person,” Hiemstra says. “He had a real love for the gospel and the truth of the word…I don't think there was a dry eye on Sunday morning.”
Neighbours say he often liked to take a walk or a bike ride to contemplate his sermons, and that could have been what he was doing on Saturday.
Police say Korvemaker was travelling westbound on his bicycle when he collided head-on with an eastbound SUV.
OPP Sgt. David Rektor says “It's clearly a case where we really have to stress the importance of being safe on a bike, watching out for each other on the roadways.”
The driver of the SUV, a 17-year-old male from London suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
A post mortem was scheduled for Monday. No charges have been laid and the investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile the community that considered Korvemaker family is finding ways to come together to get through the tragedy.
Hiemstra says “We have to get through this week right - the funeral and the visitation and then it will just be supporting the family - as a church we'll draw together.”
