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02/02/2016 12:12 PMAn unexpected windfall may be the sweetest, especially one that comes with a $1,050,000 gift.
That is the value of Florence Griswold Malcarne’s bequest to the Old Saybrook Public Schools that the Board of Education accepted on Jan. 7. The donation comes with guidance that the gift is to be used for two annual $10,000 scholarships for Old Saybrook High School students pursuing nursing or medical careers.
Superintendent of Schools Jan Perruccio said the bequest was a complete surprise. Perrucio was first informed of the bequest by Malcarne’s attorney Ed Cassella. The Board of Education voted to accept the gift at the Board’s Jan. 5 meeting.
“We are obviously so thankful that this gift will provide opportunities for our students. We’re amazed at her generosity,” said Perruccio.
She said she just wishes there was someone to whom the district could reach out and say thank you.
According to her obituary, Malcarne was predeceased by her husband Harry and two brothers, Alfred and Robert Griswold, and survived by her sister Elenor Collins, two nieces, and three nephews and their families.
Born to Henry and Mabel Griswold in Centerbrook, Malcarne, with deep ties to the area, chose to be buried in the Griswold family plot in Centerbrook Cemetery on Westbrook Road, Centerbrook.
Details of her working life provide a hint to why she may have chosen to dedicate her gift to Old Saybrook High School students pursuing nursing or medical careers. In her obituary, published in the Harbor News on April 23, 2015, she is described as a graduate of Pratt High School who had worked at Middlesex Hospital Tumor Clinic and as a bookkeeper at Old Saybrook schools and at Community Auto Sales. Perhaps her connections to the hospital clinic and to Old Saybrook’s students led her to choose the direction of her bequest. But it’s only a guess.
Malcarne died on March 21, 2015, but the size of the bequest to the schools was only revealed last month when her estate settled.
The 1964 City Directory for Old Saybrook’s entry for Harry and Florence Malcarne shows them living in town at 14 Fenwood Parkway. It’s an indication that she and her husband lived in town for more than 50 years.
Next to her 1948 Pratt High School yearbook photo, the editors write, “Florence is the quiet girl in our class. She will long be remembered by all of us for her willingness to take over many of the tasks no one else wanted to do. Florence enjoys singing and her alto voice has helped make many of our musical programs successful. She was selected to take part in the All State Chorus last fall. May you sing through the future, Florence.”
With this legacy for Old Saybrook students, hers is a voice that will continue to sing on for many years—and touch many lives through the gift of healing.