St. George's, a co-ed boarding school in Newport, Rhode Island, has announced that it has received a $7.3 million bequest from Philadelphia banker and alumnus Henry Pease twenty-six years after Pease's death in 1979.

The largest single gift in the school's 110-year history will be added to its endowment, and the income it generates will be used to enhance teachers' salaries and boost the school's financial aid budget. St. George's learned about the impending gift years ago but only received the first portion of it, $5.8 million, at the end of December; it expects to receive the balance, $1.5 million, soon, said assistant head of school for external affairs Joe Gould.

Pease's will stated that, upon his death, his sister, Polly, would be taken care of with the money until her death, at which point his estate would revert to the school. Polly Pease died in June 2001, and under the terms of the trust St. George's submitted a plan for the money to the estate's trustee. However, the trustee was not amenable to the plan and argued that he should continue to oversee the funds. Four years of litigation ensued. "The case went through three levels of courts in Pennsylvania, and we prevailed at every level," said Gould.

Now that most of the bequest is in hand, faculty at the school will receive an almost immediate increase in pay and will benefit annually from the Pease Teaching Enhancement. Funds will also be allocated to four annual financial aid scholarships.