(Charleston) His friends thought he was pauper, but Edgar Loring has proved himself to be a prince, especially to his alma mater at the University of Charleston. Loring, thought to be poor in his later life, donated $1 million to the university upon his death.
"It is one of those unbelievable stories that you sometimes read about and so I wanted to share with you the dramatic story of somebody who carried a gratitude that we did not know about. Those who taught him and were with him at the institution then would never have dreamed or known this would happen,” U.C President Ed Welch said as he announced the gift on Tuesday.
Loring had graduated from Morris Harvey College in 1948 with a degree in business. He would move on later in his life to sell dental supplies across the country.
After retiring, Loring settled in a tiny apartment above a garage in St. Petersburg, Florida. During his stay there, Loring met his landlady Bonnie Otis and her husband when they purchased the home in the 1980s.
Assuming Edgar was a senior on a tight budget, they kept his rent at a rate of $145 a month, a price that included his electricity bill. Bonnie also said Edgar rode his bicycle around town even though he had a driver's license and shunned modern conveniences like television and air conditioning.
Edgar eventually had a stroke and was forced to move to a nursing home. Bonnie would visit him on a regular basis since he had no family and few other friends. It was during one of those visits she learned of his fortune.
"He said, 'Well, you know I'm a millionaire.' And I said, 'Yeah, I'm the Queen of England,'" she said thinking her friend was joking.
Edgar would later convince Betty of his immense fortune. She helped him organize his affairs and convinced him to write a will so his money would not be lost. Edgar made sure there was enough to repay Medicaid and he also thought of one place that had impacted his life.
"He mentioned he wanted to give the money to the University of Charleston. He said, 'It's a pretty school and it's along the river,'" Betty said as she described that moment. "He had apparently comeback from the time he had graduated, liked the school, and was proud he had come here."
Edgar died in the December 2008 at age of 83. The school was notified last spring of the million-dollar donation. Now, a classroom stands in his honor at the new School of Business on Virginia Street.
"We explored naming something even more significant, but Bonnie felt based on everything she knew about him that he would be upset with us for doing this because he was so humble," said President Welch.
The money will be used to provide scholarships for students in the university's Graduate School of Business.
