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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Massachusetts Woman Leaves Bangor Theological Seminary $1 Million
Bangor, ME – It’s a mystery whether Florence Haynes ever visited Bangor Theological Seminary, and yet she left the 190-year-old institution $1 million of her estate. The bequest will enable the seminary to increase its annual student scholarships by about 25 percent, beginning next fall.
Haynes lived most of her life in West Medford, Mass., and left the money in memory of her long-time pastor, the Rev. Gordon Washburn, who graduated from Bangor Seminary in 1938 with a Master of Divinity.
President William Imes said, “It’s a tremendous gift that will permit us to help 15 to 20 more students a year.” The gift is one of the largest the seminary has ever received, Imes said. When they learned about the bequest two weeks ago, “We were dancing in the aisles,” said Imes. The gift was made public at the alumni dinner held Monday, January 26th, at the annual convocation.
“We got this money due to the pastoral care one of our graduates gave her. We thought we should celebrate that with other alums first,” Imes said.
The seminary is seeking more information about Haynes and Washburn.
Washburn served as pastor of the West Medford Congregational Church, which Dr. Haynes attended from 1947 to 1967, according to Imes. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1931 with an A.M. and in 1933 earned her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences. She worked for many years at Harvard Medical School.
Haynes never married and amassed an estate worth $10 million. She also left money to her alma maters, Mt. Holyoke and Radcliffe, as well as West Medford Congregational Church, a church retreat camp in Massachusetts, and four friends, three of whom predeceased her. Haynes had no living relatives when she died several years ago in a Boston area rest home.
“She had very few connections to people,” said Imes, “but in death she made life better for a ton of people.”
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Bangor
Campus 300 Union Street, Bangor, Maine 04401 |
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