And he had a 5 D cell Maglite

[XCR1250]

New Hampshire man had no car and no furniture, but died with a big secret, leaving his town millions

KATHY McCORMACK and ROBERT F. BUKATY

Updated Tue, November 21, 2023 at 4:54 AM CST·6 min read

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Frugal Millionaire Town Gift

In this photo provided by Ed Smith, Geoffrey Holt rests his leg on top of his riding mower in Hinsdale, N.H., on April 4, 2020. Holt left the town of Hinsdale nearly $4 million when he died last June. (Ed Smith via AP)

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HINSDALE, N.H. (AP) — Geoffrey Holt was unassuming as the caretaker of a mobile home park in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, where he lived a simple, but curious life.

Residents would see Holt around town in threadbare clothes — riding his lawn mower, headed to the convenience store, parked along the main road reading a newspaper or watching cars pass.

He did odd jobs for others, but rarely left town. Despite having taught driver’s ed to high schoolers, Holt had given up driving a car. He opted for a bicycle instead and finally the mower. His mobile home in the park was mostly empty of furniture -- no TV and no computer, either. The legs of the bed went through the floor.

“He seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn’t want much,” said Edwin “Smokey” Smith, Holt’s best friend and former employer.

But Holt died earlier this year with a secret: He was a multimillionaire. And what’s more, he gave it all away to this community of 4,200 people.

His will had brief instructions: $3.8 million to the town of Hinsdale to benefit the community in the areas of education, health, recreation and culture.

“I don’t think anyone had any idea that he was that successful,” said Steve Diorio, chairperson of the town selectboard 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 money could go far in this Connecticut River town sandwiched between Vermont and Massachusetts with abundant hiking and fishing opportunities and small businesses. It's named for Ebenezer Hinsdale, an officer in the French and Indian Wars who built a fort and a grist mill. In addition to Hinsdale's house, built in 1759, the town has the nation’s oldest continually operating post office, dating back to 1816.

There's been no formal gathering to discuss ideas for the money since local officials were notified in September. Some residents have proposed upgrading the town hall clock, restoring buildings, maybe buying a new ballot counting machine in honor of Holt, who always made sure he voted. Another possibility is setting up an online drivers' education course.

Organizations would be be able to apply for grants via a trust through the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, drawing from the interest, roughly about $150,000 annually.

Hinsdale will “utilize the money left very frugally as Mr. Holt did,” said Kathryn Lynch, town administrator.

Holt’s best friend Smith, a former state legislator who became the executor of Holt's estate, had learned about his fortune in recent years.

He knew Holt, who died in June at age 82, had varied interests, like collecting hundreds of model cars and train sets that filled his rooms, covered the couch and extended into a shed. He also collected books about history, with Henry Ford and World War II among his favorite topics. Holt had an extensive record collection too, including Handel and Mozart.

Smith also knew that Holt, who earlier in life had worked as a production manager at a grain mill that closed in nearby Brattleboro, Vermont, invested his money. Holt would find a quiet place to sit near a brook and study financial publications.

Holt confided to Smith that his investments were doing better than he had ever expected and wasn't sure what to to do with the money. Smith suggested that he remember the town.

“I was sort of dumbfounded when I found out that all of it went to the town,” he said.

One of Holt's first investments into a mutual fund was in communications, Smith said. That was before cellphones.

Holt's sister, 81-year-old Alison Holt of Laguna Woods, California, said she knew her brother invested and remembered that not wasting money and investing were important to their father.

“Geoffrey had a learning disability. He had dyslexia,” she said. “He was very smart in certain ways. When it came to writing or spelling, he was a lost cause. And my father was a professor. So, I think that Geoff felt like he was disappointing my dad. But maybe socking away all that money was a way to compete.”

She and her brother grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. Their father, Lee Holt, taught English and world literature at American International College. Their mother, Margaret Holt, had a Shakespearean scholar for a dad. She was an artist who “absorbed the values of the Quaker Society of Friends,” according to her obituary. Both parents were peace activists who eventually moved to Amherst and took part in a weekly town vigil that addressed local to global peace and justice issues.

Their children were well-educated. Geoffrey went to boarding schools and attended the former Marlboro College in Vermont, where students had self-designed degree plans. He graduated in 1963 and served in the U.S. Navy before earning a master’s degree from the college where his father taught in 1968. In addition to driver's ed, he briefly taught social studies at Thayer High School in Winchester, New Hampshire, before getting his job at the mill.

Alison remembers their father reading Russian novels to them at bedtime. Geoffrey could remember all those long names of multiple characters.

He seemed to borrow a page from his own upbringing, which was strict and frugal, according to his sister, a retired librarian. His parents had a vegetable garden, kept the thermostat low, and accepted donated clothes for their children from a friend.

She said Geoffrey didn't need a lot to be happy, didn't want to draw attention to himself, and might have been afraid of moving. He once declined a promotion at the mill that would have required him to relocate.

“He always told me that his main goal in life was to make sure that nobody noticed anything,” she said, adding that he'd say "or you might get into trouble.”

They didn't talk much about money, though he would ask her often if she needed anything.

“I just feel so sad that he didn’t indulge himself just a little bit,” she said.

But he never seemed to complain. He also always wasn’t on his own, either. As a young man, he was briefly married and divorced. Years later, he grew close to a woman at the mobile home park and moved in with her. She died in 2017.

Neither Alison nor Geoffrey had any children.

Holt suffered a stroke a couple of years ago, and worked with therapist Jim Ferry, who described him as thoughtful, intellectual and genteel, but not comfortable with following the academic route that family members took.

Holt had developed mobility issues following his stroke, and missed riding his mower.

“I think for Geoff, lawn mowing was relaxation, it was a way for him to kind of connect with the outdoors,” Ferry said. “I think he saw it as service to people that he cared about, which were the people in the trailer park that I think he really liked because they were not fancy people."

Residents are hoping Hinsdale will get noticed a bit more because of the gift.

“It's actually a forgotten corner in New Hampshire,” said Ann Diorio, who's married to Steve Diorio and is on the local planning board. “So maybe this will put it on the map a little bit."

_____

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

[DriftBusta]

You'd be amazed at how many people are out there like that guy.  They live like paupers but salt away money or investments for 40-50 years.  They don't know any other way to live, but accumulate a significant amount of wealth.  Then they die and it usually goes to some ungrateful relatives who piss through it in short order.  I see it fairly often. 

[ArcticCrusher]

3 minutes ago, DriftBusta said:

You'd be amazed at how many people are out there like that guy.  They live like paupers but salt away money or investments for 40-50 years.  They don't know any other way to live, but accumulate a significant amount of wealth.  Then they die and it usually goes to some ungrateful relatives who piss through it in short order.  I see it fairly often. 

 

Yup, growing up I had an old guy on our street who looked like a hobo and drove around on an old rickety peddle bike even in the middle of winter.

Lived in a shack that would make Spins van look like comfort.  Turns out he own a lot of properties on the street and his wife and daughter finally lived well after his passing.

[EvilBird]

What a great Guy . 

People like that fascinate me . 

 

[SkisNH]

My take away...is that every American can retire with dignity. Stop wasting your money on tattoos and lottery tickets. The power of compound interest....be a Geoffrey not a Joe Dirt 

[spin_dry]

25 minutes ago, SkisNH said:

My take away...is that every American can retire with dignity. Stop wasting your money on tattoos and lottery tickets. The power of compound interest....be a Geoffrey not a Joe Dirt 

Most waste their money not on tats and lottery tickets, but loans for new $80k trucks, high end snowmobiles, motorcycles, and tons of other shit. America is addicted to stuff and more stuff. 

[XCR1250]

1 hour ago, DriftBusta said:

You'd be amazed at how many people are out there like that guy.  They live like paupers but salt away money or investments for 40-50 years.  They don't know any other way to live, but accumulate a significant amount of wealth.  Then they die and it usually goes to some ungrateful relatives who piss through it in short order.  I see it fairly often. 

That's why I have an Irrevocable Trust.

[Highmark]

We have quite a few farmers like this in my area.   Lifetime bachelors who have done very well.   3-4 I know would likely have estates well over $10 million.   Often times much is given to the archdiocese or other private charities like a Legion Post which I will say likely uses the money more effectively that some govt would.   Small town govts might be the exception to that.   

Edited November 21, 2023 by Highmark

[Steve753]

59 minutes ago, spin_dry said:

Most waste their money not on tats and lottery tickets, but loans for new $80k trucks, high end snowmobiles, motorcycles, and tons of other shit. America is addicted to stuff and more stuff. 

Cant take it with you. Might as well spend it. 

[Mag6240]

54 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Cant take it with you. Might as well spend it. 

We tried telling my Dad this (Tipped over 9+ years ago, and his car was a clapped out Geo Tracker) - now my mother is in the same boat, doesn't spend money on anything. 

Oh well, I guess us kids will reap the benefits of their saving ways if mom doesn't need it all to live another few months, decided by health care workers who need to keep them hospitals afloat.

[SkisNH]

1 hour ago, Steve753 said:

Cant take it with you. Might as well spend it. 

Accumulate first....then spend what you can afford. Most spend what they can afford on payments and never get around to Accumulating. Living paycheck to paycheck and payment to payment.

[Steve753]

3 minutes ago, SkisNH said:

Accumulate first....then spend what you can afford. Most spend what they can afford on payments and never get around to Accumulating. Living paycheck to paycheck and payment to payment.

Some people wont have anything nice until they are 70 thinking like that. 

[spin_dry]

39 minutes ago, Mag6240 said:

We tried telling my Dad this (Tipped over 9+ years ago, and his car was a clapped out Geo Tracker) - now my mother is in the same boat, doesn't spend money on anything. 

Oh well, I guess us kids will reap the benefits of their saving ways if mom doesn't need it all to live another few months, decided by health care workers who need to keep them hospitals afloat.

My brother in law and sister are quite wealthy. They always bought second hand everything and never had the need for lots of stuff. Both worked very hard and invested heavily into real estate. While they’ll leave millions on the table when they die, both are very happy people. 

[Mag6240]

Just now, spin_dry said:

While they’ll leave millions on the table when they die, both are very happy people. 

Financial security isn't everything, but it certainly allows for attention on other things towards being and living happily, no doubt.

[Cold War]

1 hour ago, Steve753 said:

Cant take it with you. Might as well spend it. 

Yup.  Live every day like the last.  I have lost so many older friends over the last few years.   People have these fantasies  about growing old and comfortable.  It almost never ends like you think it will.  The golden years are a myth.  Enjoy your life while you are young enough to.  Illness, tragedy, comes fast and unexpected.  
 

Just buried a guy who lived like a bum, while saving for that magical time.  His kids sold all his collections, home , properties, for pennies.  Blew through all the money and are right back to being losers. 

[DriftBusta]

20 minutes ago, SkisNH said:

Accumulate first....then spend what you can afford. Most spend what they can afford on payments and never get around to Accumulating. Living paycheck to paycheck and payment to payment.

Some good advice in here, and some bad advice from others. There are things like long-term care concerns, which one out of every two people are going to need at one point. I watched $1 million vacuum down to zero in a matter of a few years with a client who got dementia. His care cost cost to 15 grand a month. There are no perfect answers. It is a personal value judgment. I like to strike a balance between living for today and living For tomorrow. But some who live all for today don’t take the time to realize what happens if they run out of money. If you think being broke is stressful at age 55 or 60, wait until you’re 75 or 80..

[SkisNH]

16 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Some people wont have anything nice until they are 70 thinking like that. 

Is what it is....play the payment game you roll the dice. If you're not a desk jockey and you blow out a knee, you might end up in bankruptcy....not the way I would do it. 

[Steve753]

18 minutes ago, SkisNH said:

Is what it is....play the payment game you roll the dice. If you're not a desk jockey and you blow out a knee, you might end up in bankruptcy....not the way I would do it. 

Ya but you're Jewish. Not everyone thinks like a Jew. 

[hayward]

2 hours ago, Steve753 said:

Cant take it with you. Might as well spend it. 

If you have it to spend....

[Mainecat]

But ugly people aren’t smart.

[Steve753]

4 minutes ago, hayward said:

If you have it to spend....

Stay ay home in you're rented basement I guess. Whatever makes you happy. Who am I to judge.

[EvilBird]

 

16 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Ya but you're Jewish. Not everyone thinks like a Jew. 

 

6 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Stay ay home in you're rented basement I guess. Whatever makes you happy. Who am I to judge.

 

[Steve753]

Just now, EvilBird said:

 

 

 

What? Jews are notoriously cheap. Where the hell do you think the saying "jewed them down" came from.

[EvilBird]

1 minute ago, Steve753 said:

What? Jews are notoriously cheap. Where the hell do you think the saying "jewed them down" came from.

Oh really? Tell me more I had no idea! 

[SkisNH]

1 hour ago, Steve753 said:

Ya but you're Jewish. Not everyone thinks like a Jew. 

You mean smart and reasonable?  Nobody ever said don't spend money.  Its there to be enjoyed, but for God's sake don't put your family at risk because you can't really afford your lifestyle....

Remember it always rains. I'll be standing there with giant umbrella.