The Daily Mail UK
written by Lizzie Edmonds
Sunday January 12, 2014
A generous widow with no close family donated almost all of her £1.7million estate to charity in her will.
Jane Hutton, who developed dementia and lived in a care home near in Aberdeen, died last year aged 83.
Mrs Hutton, who has been described as frugal by friends, had been married to husband Neil, but the couple had no children.
The retired secretary left orders in her will for her £1,684,364 estate to be handed over to a variety of good causes after her death.
Other than £14,000 she set aside to give to close friends, she gave a collection of her personal effects and £1000 to Cats Protection.
She asked the rest be split between Christian Aid, HOPE Africa, World Villages for Children UK, and the British Red Cross. Each charity will be in line to receive around £410,000 each before tax.
Retired secretary Mrs Hutton moved into the home shortly before her death.
Gunilla Smith, 72, of Aberdeen, who developed a close friendship with the widow through exercise classes she organised, said she had been very careful with money.
She said: "Jane was never one for being front and centre and she was very frugal with her money and nobody could have guessed she was worth so much.
When we went out she would never buy any expensive meals or any expensive drinks.
In fact she even ran her late husband's car until it literally fell apart rather than buying a new one.
She used to go to a group that put on shows and she would just sing at the side or have a small part, she hated being front and centre in the spotlight."
Mrs Smith added: "I first met Jane when she was forwarded to the exercise class that I run by a nurse who was looking after her.
She had received heart surgery on a valve and needed to do regular light exercises to get back to health.
Jane attended my classes three times a week, and was extremely enthusiastic about it as she was in great health because of them.
I became very friendly with her and went on holidays and days out with her as well as seeing her at the classes. Sadly her health began to deteriorate and she went into a home.
She came to class once a week but then had to give up and as her memory failed we lost the close contact that we once enjoyed."
Adeline MacDonald, 80, said Mrs Hutton had previously said she intended leaving a legacy to Cats Protection but had never hinted on the size of her estate.
She said: "She kept herself to herself. She was married but she didn't have any other family members.
I was actually related to her as she was related to my husband. When her husband Neil died we were pretty close to each other but in later years we had sadly drifted apart as she was unwell.
She had always said she would like to leave money to the Cats Protection as she loved cats but she did not say where the rest of her money was to go."
Matt Vincent of Cats Protection revealed Mrs Hutton had been a member of the organisation since 1987.
He said: "We are extremely grateful for all donations and gifts we receive.
By leaving a gift to Cats Protection in her will, Mrs Hutton will help us to change the lives of some of the many cats and kittens that we care for every year.
Without supporters like Mrs Hutton remembering us in this incredibly personal way, we simply wouldn't be the charity we are today."
A British Red Cross spokesman added: "We are delighted Mrs Hutton has chosen the British Red Cross as one of the chrities included in her legacy."
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