[News] Secret millionaire Grace Groner donates her fortune

Secret millionaire Grace Groner (photo from http://www.bittenandbound.com)

Grace Groner was orphaned when she was 12 and lived simply until passing away at age 100 in January. Grace left the world a better place, at least her little corner of it.

Groner, a secret millionaire, left her entire estate worth $7-million-dollars to her alma mater, Lake Forest College in Illinois.

In 1935, Groner purchased $180 stock in Abbott Laboratories – where she worked as a secretary for 43 years –  and, thanks to her frugal lifestyle and thoughtful investing, Grace amassed a $7-million-dollar fortune in the last 75 years.

Grace lived in Lake Forest in a modest one bedroom cottage with plain furnishings, mismatched dishes and a decades-old television set. She bought her clothes at rummage sales and walked instead of driving.

Grace had already donated $180,000 to a scholarship program at the liberal arts school.

“Oh my God,” was the reaction of Lake Forest College president Stephen Schutt upon learning the amount of Groner’s generous donation. Schutt reportedly knew that Grace intended to leave money to the college however, until her death, he had no idea how large the gift would be.

Grace’s money will help Lake Forest’s 1,300 students take internships and study abroad – experiences that many of them would never have had without her help.

Her little home was also donated to the college and will be used to house recipients of scholarships from the foundation. The house has been named “Grace’s Cottage,” in honor of a woman filled with grace.