Betty Rose Miller
1928 - 2019

Published at: https://brownfuneralhomeniles.com/tribute/details/2558/Betty-Miller/obituary.html

Obituary of Betty Rose Miller

Betty Rose Miller, 91, turned her face to the light and closed her eyes for the final time on Monday, October 7, 2019. We, her family, are left to remember her amazingly blessed life.

Born in Elkhart during the giddy year before the stock market crash that brought about the Great Depression, Betty was the second of four children and the oldest girl. In 1931 her parents had to pack up their belongings and head to Kansas for a year or so to help on the family farm where little Betty, aged 3, became the favorite target of the farmyard chickens, leaving her with a lifelong wariness of birds.

After returning to Niles, MI, Betty excelled in school, graduating in 1946 as Niles High School valedictorian. Betty was always self-reliant and optimistic. She often said that she built happiness within herself and carried it with her wherever she went.

Betty never had difficulty finding a job; they came to her unexpectedly and out of the blue. In the same way her life partner, Richard Miller, appeared in her life out of the blue. He was nine years older and a handsome former 1st Sergeant in the Army Air Corp. during WWII. While her parents initially warned her away from an older military man, upon meeting the quiet, honorable and steady Richard, they consented to the match. Betty was endlessly practical and thrifty so in April of 1947 she was married in an attractive business suit that would also be suitable for her work at an insurance agency.

When Richard was called to serve again during the Korean War, this time as a Master Sergeant based stateside in Tacoma, Washington, Betty was able to join him along with their first daughter.

For many decades, Richard and Betty were members of the Community Grange in Sumnerville, MI. And she worked as a volunteer at the polling station at Oak Manor School in Niles for many elections.

Betty’s creative talents as a seamstress and dressmaker morphed into Betty Miller Draperies, a career which kept her busy for many years. Among her many projects, she designed, sewed and, with her husband’s help, installed the drapes and valances for the Morris Inn on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

When she was done being a full-time entrepreneur, she was offered a job at the Brandywine School Corporation, where she developed a reputation of being the bright-eyed, eager person who could take any problem and master it. She helped transition the office from typewriters to the, then, ground-breaking DOS computers complete with floppy drives and dot-matrix printers. She learned how to write grant proposals for the school system and did so well that even after she retired, they offered to rehire her on a work-from-home basis. Needless to say, she took them up on their offer.

Betty attended several seminars on investing before she became a self-taught portfolio manager. Even past her 91st birthday she watched the business channel to gather info she could use in her trading. She loved the astonishment she caused when informing people that she not only knew how to use the internet, but that her family came to her for financial advice.

A true “Renaissance” woman, Betty was a painter, a poet and a traveler – she and husband Richard visited almost every state in the continental U.S. accessible by car.

Betty’s professional life was matched by a rich personal life shared with her husband of 58 years, until he passed in 2005. She is survived by her daughters, Sharon and Wendy, and her grandchildren, John, Zoanne and Zara; devoted friends and a host of people whose lives she touched even if they only knew her for a short time. And while we have lost our kind, strong, independent, happy mother and grandmother, Betty is only off on another adventure, this time to the arms of her Savior, where she is sure to look at Him bright-eyed and eager for whatever He has in store for her.

Those wishing to honor Betty through donations are asked to consider Hillsdale College, 33 E. College Street, Hillsdale, MI  49242 or give online at https://www.hillsdale.edu/support/ways-to-give/.

A time of visitation will be held on Friday, October 11, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Brown Funeral Home in Niles. In keeping with Betty’s wishes a private family graveside service will be held at Silverbrook Cemetery.

To send flowers to the family of Betty Miller, please visit Tribute Store

Debra ‘Deb’ Wiltse, of Fremont, Ohio
June 12, 1960-Oct. 13, 2019

Niles Daily Star, Published 8:46 am Thursday, October 17, 2019

June 12, 1960 — Oct. 14, 2019

Debra “Deb” J. Wiltse, 59, of Fremont, Ohio, formerly of Niles, passed away unexpectedly at her residence of natural causes on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019.

She was born in Benton Harbor to the late Gerry R. and Patsy J. (Barlow) Sisk.

Deb graduated from Brandywine High School and worked managing the local McDonalds for many years.

On Aug. 27, 2005, she married Brad Wiltse at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Niles. In 2010, the couple relocated to Fremont, Ohio, which was a perfect place for Deb who was an amusement park and roller coaster enthusiast, her last trip to her favorite roller coaster, Cedar Point, being the day before she passed. She was currently working as a scale operator for Bunge, a soybean processing plant.

Deb enjoyed going on trips and new adventures. Deb adored her cats and was an avid University of Michigan fan. She liked quiet times working on jigsaw puzzles and attending concerts with music blasting. Deb was an advocate for others; she was selfless and giving, spoke her mind but had big heart. Deb was a strong-willed person who beat lung cancer and had been cancer free for 13 years. Deb’s love and passion was reserved for her family, who she fiercely protected and fought for above all things. They always came first. She was the family organizer and planned events to keep them all close. Deb was many things to many people, and her absence will leave an incredible void.

She is preceded in passing by her beloved mother, Patsy J. Bankston.

Deb leaves to cherish her memory her husband, Brad Wiltse, of Fremont, Ohio; her children, Shawn Sisk, of Porter, Indiana, Michael (Jessica) Grant, of Elkhart, and Jennifer Isabell, of Osceola; her seven grandchildren, all whom she loved deeply; her dad (step-father), Gary Bankston, of Niles; and her siblings; Jerry Sisk, of Michigan, and Sherrie (Dennis) Reinking, of Osceola, and those she considered sisters; Margaret, of Elkhart, and her cousin, Terri Sisk, of Niles. Deb will also be missed by the countless lives she has touched.

A time of visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct, 18, 2019, at Brown Funeral Home in Niles.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, at St. John’s United Church of Christ, 601 Sycamore St., in Niles, with Pastor Ray Fulbright officiating. An interment will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made in Deb’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105.

Memories of Deb may be shared with her family at BrownFuneralHomeNiles.com.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Brown Funeral Home, Niles.

Lisa Michelle Grant, of Niles
Oct. 31, 1961-June 28, 2019

Niles Daily Star, Published 9:10 am Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Oct. 31, 1961 — June 28, 2019

Lisa Michelle Grant, 57, of Niles, died peacefully at 10:20 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2019, at the Hanson Hospice Center in Stevensville, Michigan following an extended illness.

She was born on Oct. 31, 1961, in South Bend, to Howard A. and Barbara J. (Craw) Grant.

Lisa Michelle Grant

She was graduated from Niles High School, with the class of 1980, and has lived in Niles all of her life. She was employed at the Niles Pizza Hut for 15 years, and the management celebrated that remarkable longevity on the Pizza Hut crew.

Lisa attended the Wesley United Methodist Church, in Niles, with her family as a child, but later completed the steps to join the Episcopal church and became a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, in Niles. She enjoyed traveling with her family to Germany, South America and Key West, Florida. She was always an independent woman and often traveled alone, whether taking the South Shore Line to Chicago or driving to local destinations. She had a remarkable memory for details in areas that fascinated her, including friends and acquaintances who were pleased when Lisa would remember special concerns from previous visits. She also enjoyed aviation history, sharing accurate details of specific events in an expert manner. But her greatest interest was animals, including horses and dogs, especially border collies like her pet, Hollie.

Lisa was sadly preceded in death just two months ago on April 16, 2019, by her mother, Barbara J. Grant, with whom she had lived most of her life. She was also preceded in death by her father, Howard A. Grant, on April 20, 1994; and by a brother-in-law, William R. Holmes Jr., on May 3, 2000.

Surviving family includes her sister, Christine J. Holmes, of Niles; nieces Michelle Holmes and her son Ethan, Emily (Shawn) Williams, Jessica Holmes and her daughter, Hannah, and Katherine (Andrew Ream) Holmes and their children, Drew and Parker; and Lisa’s uncle, Harlan “Mike” (Kay) Craw, of Berrien Springs, Michigan; and a great circle of wonderful friends.

The Episcopal Funeral Rite for Lisa Grant will be at 11 a.m. Friday, July 5, 2019, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 9 S. Fourth St. Niles, by The Reverend James Slack, retired. The Committal Rite will be private, later, at the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

The family will receive relatives and friends at the church beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday.

Contributions in memory of Lisa may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, 9 S. Fourth St., Niles, MI 49120. trinityepiscopalniles.org/. Arrangements were made at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 E. Main St. in Niles. Online condolences may be left at: halbritterwickens.com.

Christine M. Hagey, of Niles
SEPTEMBER 24, 1947-SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

Niles Daily Star, Published 7:56 am Friday, September 13, 2019

Ronald Melvin Lawrence, of Niles
Aug. 12, 1935-Sept. 18, 2019

Niles Daily Star, Published 9:07 am Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Aug. 12, 1935 — Sept. 16, 2019

Ronald Melvin Lawrence, 84, passed away at 2:45 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, in Riveridge Manor.

Ronald was born on Aug. 12, 1935, in Jackson, Mississippi to the late Melvin and Stella Lawrence. Ronald was also preceded in death by stepbrother, Bernard; and stepsister, Berniece.

Ronald is survived by his daughters, Rhonda (Kevin) Muck, Susan Devereaux, and Mary (William Esler) Jacobs; and grandchildren, Zachary Devereaux, Ashley Devereaux.

Ronald retired from Simplicity Pattern where he was a machine binder. He enjoyed having coffee at Martin’s. Ronald was very religious and active in the First Church of God.

Family and friends may gather for a Graveside Service at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, at Silverbrook Cemetery. Halbritter Wickens Funeral Home, 615 E. Main St., Niles, is assisting the family with arrangements.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Elara Caring, 900 Cooper St., Jackson, MI 49202.

Condolences for the family may be made at halbritterwickens.com.

William L. “Junior” Jann Jr., of Niles
Nov 20, 1964-July 19, 2019

Niles Daily Star, Published 8:28 am Wednesday, July 24, 2019