The Lessons of the $8 Million Janitor

You may have read about the remarkable life and times of Ronald Read. He was the gas station attendant and lifelong resident of Windham County, Vt., who had quietly accumulated a portfolio worth a fortune. As the Brattleboro ­Reformer reported earlier this year, Read died last June at age 92. Despite his relatively modest wages, he left an estate with “stock holdings and property” valued at nearly $8 million. His bequest was to leave most of it to the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Brooks Memorial ­Library.