Sunday, April 22, 2012

A Revenge So Sweet

Two elderly women from very different circumstances who gave similar gifts: donations for college scholarships.

The donations are different in magnitude. After she spent most of her 87 years as a laundress in Hattiesburg, Miss., Osceola McCarty's savings totaled $150,000. When she died last January, Anne Scheiber, 101, had accumulated a fortune of $22 million, having invested shrewdly for decades.

But both women left their money to ensure that others will receive opportunities denied them. McCarty left her money to the University of Southern Mississippi, a school to which she would have been denied entry as a young adult because she is black, for scholarships for black students.

Despite a stellar record during 23 years as an auditor with the Internal Revenue Service, Scheiber was never promoted. She left her fortune to Yeshiva University for scholarships for female students.

May we all practice a revenge so sweet.

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