Brttleboro, VT.
Ronald Read died on June 2, 2015, at the age of 92.
He had lived in Wyndham County Vermont for most of his life.
He served in World War II, in North Africa, Italy and the Pacific theater, returning to Brattleboro just before Christmas 1945.
For almost 25 years he worked at Haviland's service station at the corner of Green and High Streets. He retired, found that retirement didn't suit him, and then worked at JCPenny until 1997.
A modest man who, most people thought needed a little help but would never ask.
About 10 years ago Dummerston resident Ruth Marx knitted a hat for Ronald Read because she thought the modest and simple Read could use some extra help to make it through the winter.
Ronald Read surprised local residents.
...when he died he had stock holdings and property valued at almost than $8 million, most of which was left to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Brooks Memorial Library.
Read left $1.2 million to the library and $4.8 million to the hospital. The two bequests are the largest either organization have ever received.
The Brattleboro Reformer has the entirety of the story here.