A Vermont man who was known for his simplicity and frugality has left millions to local institutions after passing away.
According to FOX News, 92-year-old Ronald Read left $1.2 million to the Brooks Memorial Library.and $4.8 million to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Drummerston.
FOX described these donations as "the largest either institution had ever received."
According to his lawyer, Laurie Rowell, Read had made investments that simply grew in value over time and made him a millionaire. However, she said, the multi-millionare continued to live beneath his means despite amassing a considerable amount of money from his investments.
"He was unbelievably frugal," Rowell told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Rowell also revealed that "sometimes [he] parked so far away so he wouldn't have to pay the meter" during visits to her office.
In addition to a sizeable fortune that he left behind, Read also donated his antique Edison phonograph to the Dummerston Historical Society, and the dozens of recording drums that he collected and used for the phonograph.
Read was recognisable to the people in his locality for his coat that was only held together by safety pins. He also usually wore a flannel shirt and baseball cap when going out of his house.
Born in 1921, Read grew up having a simple life than most. FOX News said that Read would hitchhike about four miles each way from his home to school in Brattleboro. Hitching and walking were his only forms of transportation to get to and from school.
Read served in the military during World War II, and afterwards worked in a gas station for 25 years. After leaving the gas station, he found employment as a janitor at the local J.C. Penney in Dummerston.
He was also briefly married for 10 years, but his wife died in 1970.
