Man who kept to himself leaves behind $3.8 million as a gift for his local community

Kindness, more often than not, comes from the most unexpected places. The world is facing big tragedies everywhere and where big superpowers are silent, people from all corners are raising their voices. This shows that humility and empathy do not depend on any particular garb. This is what the people of Hindsale realized when a seemingly ordinary man changed their fortunes by donating a huge sum of money, per Sunny Skyz. Nobody expected such benevolence from Geoffrey Holt, who mostly kept to himself. The man was a millionaire and as a parting gift, he left millions of dollars to his beloved town.

The man never acted like a millionaire and mostly donned worn-out clothes. Residents mostly saw him with his lawn mower going around town or going through his newspaper. He was never overtly social and always kept to himself. Therefore, the action shocked the residents more, as they never thought he had such a deep love for the town. In the past, he gave driving lessons to high school students. Despite being a good driver, his choice of vehicle was a bicycle. However, as the years passed, he could no longer ride the two-wheeler and switched to the lawn mower.

Most of his time was spent in a mobile home. The mobile home was not filled with any usual amenities, like a television or computer. It was filled with essentials to help him lead a comfortable daily life. Edwin “Smokey” Smith, Holt’s best friend and former employer, discussed Holt's minimalistic lifestyle in his interview with AP, "He seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn't want much." The only thing he seemed to have a connection with was the town. To give it back to the community that gave him a home for so many years, he made a will to give away his $3.8 million to enhance the lives of the 4,200 people in it. Holt left the will with some instructions; he wanted the money to be spent on education, health, recreation and culture.

After his unfortunate death, shock waves were sent into the town as they realized what a gift he left for them. “I don’t think anyone had any idea that he was that successful,” said Steve Diorio, chairperson of the town select board, who’d occasionally wave at Holt from his car, “I know he didn’t have a whole lot of family, but nonetheless, to leave it to the town where he lived in. It’s a tremendous gift.”

The town mainly runs on tourism with businesses based around activities like hiking and fishing. This fund will go a long way in developing these ventures and attract more visitors. The town still has not conducted any formal meeting to decide how to distribute the funds. There are various proposals, from renovating the town hall to restoring certain buildings. One of the possible plans takes into consideration Holt's contributions to the town by setting up an online driver’s education course. A trust fund named New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has been set up from where the community would be able to withdraw $150,000 annually. Kathryn Lynch, the town administrator is determined to honor Holt by using the money smartly and frugally.