May 26, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Cordelia Scaife May, an heir to the Mellon fortune who died in January, left the bulk of her estate, worth more than $400-million, to a Pittsburgh foundation she started in 1996. But Ms. May, who kept most of her giving private, provided few clues in her will about the exact dollar amount of her bequests. The will has just been made public.
Timothy M. Inglis, Ms. May’s executor, said most of the estate would go to the Colcom Foundation, which is named for one of her favorite books, Cold Comfort Farm, by the British author Stella Gibbons.
In addition to Colcom, three other nonprofit groups were named in Ms. May’s will:
- The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii received 34 acres of pastureland that sits next to the Kipahulu Valley extension of the Haleakala National Park, near Maui, and 35 acres of nearby waterfront property. Suzanne Case, executive director of the Conservancy’s Hawaii program, said the land is worth approximately $3-million, but added that not all of it had been appraised yet. Ms. Case said the group plans to donate the land to the park, and preserve the waterfront parcel, which contains a 19th-century ship landing.
- The National Tropical Botanical Garden, in the Lawai Valley of Kauai, Hawaii, received land near its grounds. Michael Shea, the Botanical Garden’s lawyer, said the land is worth about $1-million. Ms. May was a trustee of the organization for 25 years and provided support to it throughout her lifetime, Mr. Shea said.
- The International Academy for Preventive Medicine, in Warrenton, Va., received land that the organization plans to use for environmental and farming studies. Ms. May’s will did not specifyexactly how much land was involved, and the organization declined to provide details.
