Muncie woman kept land secret

MUNCIE -- A woman who left $12 million to the University of Cincinnati lived modestly and never told some of her closest friends, including one of her estate representatives, she was worth millions.\nAfter Edith Crawley died last December, the personal representative of her estate, Greg Hitchens, sat down to sort through paperwork. As he opened the lock box and sifted through her documents, Hitchens realized his late friend, a widow for more than 50 years, had a big secret.\n"I just never had a clue," Hitchens told The Star Press of Muncie for a story Monday. "I mean, she had always been thrifty. She was very tight with her money."\nHitchens discovered that Crawley's estate, which included some 2,400 acres of farmland, was worth millions. Most of her fortune went to her alma mater, the University of Cincinnati.\nCrawley left the money to UC's Medical Center. Half of the gift will go toward a wing in her name in the new Center for Academic and Research Excellence building, and for a floor devoted to the Edith J. Crawley Research Center for eye disease of the elderly.\nThe remaining half will be used to establish a scholarship program in her name for medical students, fellows, residents and other professionals involved in eye research.\n"It's an incredible gift, but so fitting of Edith because her passion truly was education," said Hitchens, who lived down the road from Crawley and ran errands for her.\nShe left the property, worth about $120,000, to Hitchens.\nCrawley earned a degree from UC's School of Law in 1933. She held other degrees that included a bachelor's and doctorate from UC in education and psychology and a master's from Butler University in administration, Hitchens said.\nAfter graduating from college, Crawley moved with her parents to Greensburg. In 1937, she married James P. Crawley, but the couple never had any children.\nCrawley came to Muncie shortly after her husband's death in the 1950s, and she worked in guidance for Muncie Community Schools until her retirement in 1974.\nBecause she was smart and knew how to invest well, Hitchens said, she began buying property on her small teacher's salary at the time.\n"She ended up with some of the best ground in the state," he said.