A secret millionaire, Audrey Mosey from Cottingham, East Yorkshire, lived in a modest home and kept her bulging bank account to herself.
Generous Audrey left £1.3m in her will to the village she loved to help her neighbours.
Audrey died in January last year aged 91, a few years after Ken, her husband of 60 years and had no children to inherit her wealth. Not even her closest friends realised that she and her husband had a seven-figure property portfolio.
The I Audrey Mosey Fund has been launched to help performing arts groups, charities, schools and social enterprises in the area and is set to help thousands of people.
Pauline Lindop, executor of Audrey’s estate and part-founder of the I Am Fund, said: “I was not surprised by Audrey’s generosity in leaving such an incredible sum of money to be invested in good causes across the area, because that was her nature.
“It was a daunting challenge at first, knowing I was going to need to play a part in something so important, but also felt incredibly honoured and excited by the prospect. Audrey’s legacy will go on to help thousands of people for many years to come.”
She had also left a number of donations to specific charities, including Dove House Hospice and the local branch of the RSPCA.
