Church Bequest, Though in Millions, Falls Short of Estimates

A gift left to the United Church of Christ by a wealthy Florida couple who committed suicide together in December is probably substantially less than the $10 million widely reported in the media, but is still estimated to be in the millions.

The church has formally announced that it was named in a living trust agreement to receive a portion of the estate of Richard C. and Helen S. Brown. Weeks of speculation about a possible gift had been fueled by farewell notes the elderly couple sent to friends before taking their lives.

In those notes the Browns, active members of the United Church of Christ for more than 40 years, said they wanted the fortune they made in the broadcasting industry to be spent on church work rather than on their own deteriorating bodies.

Richard Brown was 79 at the time of his death and was using a wheelchair. Helen Brown was 76 and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

The Browns owned several broadcast properties and were founders of the American Institute of the Air, a broadcast school in Minneapolis.

The Rev. Donald Stoner, director of planned giving for the Cleveland-based denomination, said it probably will take months for the probate court to determine the exact value of the estate and the portion going to the church.

He said, however, that the expected value of the gift is within the millions but significantly less than $10 million.

Stoner said he believes the estate includes assets that are not easily evaluated--such as real estate, stocks and bonds--and will take time to quantify.

The Browns directed that their gift be used to establish an endowment to provide scholarships for the training of pastors, the church said.

“The United Church of Christ is very grateful for this gift,” said the Rev. Paul Sherry, president of the denomination.

“This reflects the Browns’ longstanding interest in the education of clergy for ministry in an increasingly global, diverse and complex world.”

Stoner, who met with the Browns on Nov. 29 at their home, recalled that the couple had expressed deep interest in provisions being made to train immigrants from abroad to be pastors in the United Church.

“They were just concerned about the changing character of the population and what would this mean in terms of our ministers’ training,” Stoner said.