Even Read’s family was “tremendously surprised” upon finding out about his hidden wealth. “He was a hard worker, but I don’t think anybody had an idea that he was a multimillionaire,” Read’s stepson Phillip Brown told the Brattleboro Reformer in 2015.<\/p>\n
Read came from humble beginnings. He was the first in his family to graduate from high school and served in North Africa, Italy and the Pacific theater during World War II, according to Reuters. After the war, he came home to work at a gas station and as a janitor at JCPenney, and married a woman who had two children. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
According to the story, he left most of his fortune to his local library and a hospital;<\/p>\n
“It was the talk of the town,” Brooks Memorial Library director Starr LaTronica told CNBC of the generous $1.2 million library donation. “People still come in and ask about it and reference it.”<\/p>\n
The library invested the bulk of the money. That way, “it will continue to pay dividends and support us down the road,” LaTronica said. The donation also allowed the library to extend its hours and do some much-needed renovations to the 50-year-old building.<\/p>\n
Read bequeathed $4.8 million to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where he was a regular \u2014 not for treatment, but for breakfast. “He always had a cup of coffee and an English muffin with peanut butter,” Ellen Smith said of her friend’s morning ritual at the hospital cafe. “That was it. And he always sat at the exact same stool at the counter.”<\/p>\n
The hospital plans to use the money to support infrastructure improvements and general modernization projects.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It is said of Mr Read that if he earned $50 he would save $40 of that amount – a habit lost on our credit-based society that spends money before we have it.<\/p>\n
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