YMCA Receives $40 Million from Ruth Bedford’s Estate

The estate of Ruth Thomas Bedford has bequeathed $40 million to the Westport Weston Family YMCA in Virginia.  The new YMCA, which opened last year, had previously received support from the philanthropist and her family.  Ruth was a YMCA trustee emeritus and was “instrumental in helping the Family YMCA to renovate and expand its original downtown Westport location during the 1980s.”

Ruth Bedford, a lifelong Westport resident, died last June at the age of 99.  Her estate also announced the bequest of another $40 million to Norwalk Hospital.  She was an active volunteer at the hospital for more than five decades, serving into her early 90s and logging nearly 17,000 volunteer hours in the hospital gift shop. 

Ruth’s great-niece, Libby McKinney Tritschler, said “she was brought up with the idea that you don’t need more money than you need to live on, and you have a responsibility to give back.”  Her friend Carol Bauer said, “She had a heart of gold, but she didn’t want anyone to make a big fuss about the many donations she gave and all that she did for other people.”

See Ruth Bedford’s Estate Bequests $40M to Westport Weston Family YMCA, Westport News, March 18, 2015.