Fans will be able to say goodbye to Gordie Howe Tuesday at The Joe

By @MichaelCaples –

The Detroit Red Wings announced today that fans will have the opportunity to pay their respects to Mr. Hockey Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena.

From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., The Joe will be open to the public – in honor of Gordie Howe’s retired No. 9 jersey number.

Fans will be able to park in the Riverfront Executive Lot or in the Joe Louis Arena Garage and enter the building at street level through the arena’s west entrance.

The Howe family will be present to greet those who attend, and Gordie Howe will lie in state inside the JLA arena bowl.

Fans will also have the option to head up to the concourse level of JLA after paying their respects to Mr. Hockey so they can view the Gordie Howe statue. There, a member of the Red Wings’ video team will be on hand to film fans who wish to share a memory of the Red Wings’ legend.

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In lieu of flowers, the Howe family asks that donations be made to one of the following charitable organizations:

• The Gordie Howe Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative (www.ghi4tbi.org or mail a check to ProMedica Foundations, 5217 Monroe St., Suite A-1, Toledo, OH 43623);

• The Howe Foundation (3128 Walton Blvd., #255, Rochester Hills, MI 48309);

• The Gordie Howe Fund for Alzheimer’s Research (Saskatoon Community Foundation, 101-308 Fourth Ave. North, Saskatoon, SK Canada, S7K 2L7).

Gordie Howe’s funeral service will be held on Wednesday, June 15 at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.