ÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø

Charles Locke was a lifelong bachelor, ÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø resident, and attorney of self-described "ordinary ability" who made nearly a half million dollars in his lifetime, only to give most of it away.

Charles was born in 1875 as the son of Philadelphia stockbroker John Jacob Locke, who was a Union lieutenant during the Civil War, and Emma W. Locke. Emma's father was the president of German National Bank of Allegheny, PA. Charles graduated from Allegheny High School and then earned a law degree from the University of ÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø. He practiced law for 67 years, serving as a Judge of the Ecclesiastical Court in the ÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø Diocese of the Episcopal Church.

In 1946, Charles gave away a sizable portion of his fortune, $350,000, to establish a charitable trust with ÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø in memory of his mother, Emma W. Locke. The story of his generosity spread overnight, carried in newspapers around the world. Many lauded his unselfish decision; Charles was soon flooded with thousands of letters, phone calls, and speaking and dinner invitations. He especially enjoyed speaking engagements, where he shared with audiences the good the trust was doing and the happiness that it brought him. A chapel was named for him at Camp Kon-O-Kwee in Zelienople to commemorate his generosity to the community.

For Charles the decision to establish a trust was sudden, but it was followed by a transcendence that remained with him throughout his life.

"It was the most remarkable unplanned thing that ever happened to me," he commented in an article published by the ÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø Press.

The fund supports any "actual need for aiding scientific research in the causes and cures of human ailments and diseases and for alleviation of human suffering there from, without respect to race, color or creed."

Charles died on Dec. 13, 1964, at the age of 89.