Betty Lou Hull, 63, of Mottville Township, White Pigeon, died Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013 at Borgess Medical Center. She was born Aug. 26, 1949 in Three Rivers the daughter of Richard and Margaret (Becker) Wayne. She lived in Mottville Township the past 46 years coming from Three Rivers. She married Roger L. Hull on Oct. 14, 1967 in Three Rivers. …

Harold “Smitty” Smith, 88, Wildwood, FL passed away on August 21, 2013 under the loving care of his family and staff of Lane Purcell Hospice House in Sumterville, FL. Mr. Smith was born on May 29, 1925 in Bristol, Indiana. He was a retired Inspector for Three Rivers Rubber Factory in Three Rivers, Michigan and was a proud veteran of …

Personnel from three area departments responded to a residential fire last week on Fishers Lake in Park Township. A house in the 55000 block of Resort Road was destroyed as a result of the late-evening fire Friday. Responding personnel said the attached garage was fully engulfed in flames and its roof caved in. The fire spread from the garage to …

A 62-year-old Mottville Township woman died after a utility tractor she was operating rolled into a pond and pinned her underwater. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Betty Hull, of the 11000 block of U.S. 12, was working around 12:30 p.m. Saturday outside her residence when the tractor somehow rolled into the pond, pinning her underwater for approximately 15 …

A Sturgis-based, independent-living facility celebrated its 60th anniversary Sunday, when more than 100 people attended its open-house celebration. Thurston Woods Village was the scene of a morning worship service, which was followed by a tour of the facility and its new garden area.

A two-vehicle crash over the weekend in Colon Township led to emergency care rendered to a Colon woman. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, Amanda Merkle, 27, was airlifted to Bronson Methodist Hospital following the incident Saturday at Wattles and Stowell roads. Merkle was driving east on Wattles Road when she allegedly turned left in front of a …

Lillian Mary Phillip, age 98, of Three Rivers, died Sunday Aug. 25, 2013 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born in Chicago, IL on April 26, 1915 the daughter of Joseph and Teresa (Hattan) Vicha and attended schools in Chicago. She was married to Peter S. Phillip on May 20, 1940 in Chicago. The family later moved to …

Audrey M. Smith, age 73, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away late Friday afternoon, Aug. 23, 2013, at the Lifespan Good Samaritan Hospice Residence in Battle Creek, Mich. She was born May 24, 1940, in Sturgis, Mich., only child of the late Floyd E. and Betty J. (Hollister) Smith. Audrey was a lifelong Sturgis resident and a graduate of Sturgis High …

William Allen (Bill) Miller, age 79, of Nottawa, left this world and loving family behind and went to his heavenly home on Aug. 24, 2013, following a lengthy illness at his home.  He was born Feb. 1, 1934, in Hartville, Ohio, to the late Atlee P. and Susanna (Cross) Miller. Retired from his own fiberglass company, he then had a …

The July unemployment rate in St. Joseph County rose by more than a full percent compared to the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 9.8 percent July unemployment rate was more than June’s 8.4 percent. Still, the July 2013 unemployment rate was one-tenths of a percent less …