LOWELL, Mich. (AP) — Farmer Willis Hatch and his schoolteacher wife, Arlene, lived simply but blissfully together for 57 years before dying in an auto accident in November.
Now, about 70 of their friends and neighbors are surprised to find themselves a collective $1.6 million richer as the beneficiaries of the late couple's frugality and generosity.
The recipients of their generosity were bequeathed certificates of deposit ranging in value from $5,000 to more than $100,000. The couple's estate was valued at $2.9 million and included the CDs, the farm and some stocks.
"Isn't that something?" said Sandra VanWeelden, 72, whose family, including three grown children, received about $250,000 from the Hatches, who never had children of their own and lived into their early 90s.