An elderly woman from Newcastle, NSW has shocked family and friends after her secret $14 million fortune was donated to 15 charities following her passing, Channel Nine’s Honey program reports.
Sheila Woodcock, who passed away in May 2018 aged 87, never disclosed to her family how much she was worth, with her second cousin and guardian Kent Woodcock telling the Newcastle Herald she “kept tight-lipped about her earnings”.
“We knew she was comfortable,” said Kent, who often visited Sheila at the aged care facility she was staying in. “But we weren’t invited to pry or ask… It was not something she wanted people to know.”
Kent says Sheila, who never married and was an only child, “did not have a regular career” and that “her wealth was created from her inheritance and the way she managed her investments”.
On February 19, 2020, 15 charities of her choosing were brought together at Broadmeadow’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, where it was announced her fortune was being split between them.
“The charities were gobsmacked but when they realised it’s 14 other charities [as well]… it’s awe-inspiring,” Mr Woodcock told the local publication.
Sheila divided her estate between Guide Dogs Australia, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, RSPCA NSW, Vision Australia, Australian Red Cross, Breast Cancer Trials, Cancer Council, World Vision, The Smith Family’s Learning For Life, ARTcastle and Sheila Woodcock Memorial Scholarship foundations and the Heart Foundation.
FULL STORY
Aussie woman leaves secret $14 million fortune to charity in will (Honey Nine)
PHOTO
Supplied