Friends seek funds to bury homeless Vietnam veteran they loved

Friends raising funds for homeless vet's burial
The Winchester Sun
By Whitney Leggett
September 25, 2014

Friends of a local homeless veteran who died earlier this month are banding together to raise funds for a proper burial.

Michele Bradford began an online GoFundMe campaign last week to accept donations for the burial expenses of Charles “Chuck” Ek, a Vietnam veteran who died Sept. 10 in Madison County. He was 60.

Bradford said she met Ek when she worked as a volunteer at the Clark County Homeless Coalition’s emergency winter shelter this year. She said Ek was encouraged to visit the shelter by another veteran who ate breakfast at McDonalds every morning and had seen him in the area.

Ek spent most of his days hanging out in the shopping center behind McDonalds where Peddler’s Mall is located. Peddler’s Mall employees came to love him and are also collecting donations for his funeral fund.

Peddler’s Mall manager Tonya Corona said she has known Ek since she took over the store around a year ago. She said he slept on a bench in a breezeway at the shopping center until three months ago when local officers heavily enforced the no loitering rules at the shopping center.

At that time he made his way to Richmond, where he found shelter through the Salvation Army. Madison County Coroner Carlos Coyle confirmed this week that Ek died from cardiovascular disease and he was being held in Richmond.

He said the coroner’s office can hold Ek for a couple of weeks, which means time is running out. This is why Bradford and Corona, along with other people in the community, are asking for help to pay for his burial expenses.

Bradford said Ek can be buried free-of-cost at Camp Nelson in Danville, but she would like to bury him in Winchester so that the community who became like family to him can visit his grave and show their respects often.
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