Mrs. Donna Marie Shugars, age 73, passed away on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at Borgess Medical Center following a brief illness. She was born in Hartford, MI. on Jan. 25, 1940 the daughter of Allen R. and Mildred L. (Chapel) Smith. Mrs. Shugars has been a resident of Three Rivers since 1966 where she and her husband Wayne worked the …

Elizabeth M. “Liz” Wilson, age 98, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Thursday evening, March 21, 2013, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. A private gathering of friends and family to celebrate the life of Elizabeth Wilson will take place at a later date. The Hackman Family Funeral Homes – Hackman Chapel, 114 S. Nottawa St., Sturgis, MI 49091, 269-651-2331 is …

Leona M. Ferrell of Port Charlotte, Fla., formerly of Three Rivers, Mich., was called home by the Lord on March 2, 2013. She was born Sept. 10, 1917, to Martha and William Templin in Sherman Township, Sturgis, Mich. She graduated from Centreville High School in 1935 then added a year at University of Michigan Satellite majoring in math. After moving …

George W. Ford died March 20 2013, at his home surrounded by his loving family and friends, just a few weeks before his 87th birthday. Visitation will be Monday, March 25, at Farrand Funeral Home in White Pigeon, Mich., from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. The funeral will be held Tuesday, March 26, at the White Pigeon United Methodist Church …

Judy Wilcox Durham Doney, 61, of Burr Oak, passed away on March 14, 2013 at Borgess Hospital after a brief illness. Judy was born on May 8, 1951 in Leonidas. She attended Nottawa School and graduated from Centreville High School in 1969. Over a 30-year period she worked at Franklin Finance, Xerox, Meyer Hydraulics, Harter, and Continental Accessories. Her hobbies …

Gary Wheeler, the president of Glen Oaks Community College since 2007, said he will not seek a new contract when his current agreement expires in two years. The 61-year-old Wheeler announced at Wednesday’s Glen Oaks Board of Trustees meeting he will retire after his contract ends at the end of June 2015. Wheeler’s request was approved by board members. Wheeler …

A meeting to discuss a “rail-to-trail” proposal between St. Joseph and Branch counties drew more than 100 people to Sturgis Tuesday. The majority of the crowd opposed the plan, which calls for utilizing a rail bed between Sturgis and Coldwater to promote walking, jogging and bicycling. Though a cost to develop the trail has not been set, its creation would …

Four awards were presented during Wednesday’s 65th St. Joseph County Conservation District annual meeting. A committee of Conservation District officials chose Mendon Township residents Roger and Ann Gentz as recipients of the Soil and Water Steward award. The couple last year was Environmentally Verified through the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program. Flowerfield Township farmer Mark Proxmire was presented the Livestock …

Carol Lee Summey, age 60, of Sturgis, Michigan passed away Tuesday afternoon, March 19, 2013 at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was born December 24, 1952 in Buffalo, New York daughter of Robert Roy and June Carol (Weaver) Kauffman. The Kauffman family relocated to Sturgis from Buffalo, New York in 1958 and Carol was a …

Danny Virgil Weekly, age 61, of Sturgis, passed away early Wednesday morning, March 20, 2013, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. He was born Sept. 13, 1951, in Greencastle, Ind., a son of Virgil and Virginia (Kosloski) Weekly. Dan was a lifelong Sturgis resident and graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of 1969. On June 1, 1974, he …