WATERVILLE — A retired schoolteacher whose lifestyle allowed her no greater luxury than an ancient Emerson radio amassed a fortune of more than $1.65 million and has left the entire sum to Inland Hospital as a permanent endowment, hospital officials said Friday.

The 96-year-old Waterville-area woman, who wanted to remain anonymous even in death, retired after more than 40 years as an elementary school teacher. The first installment from the trust fund, $65,818, was presented to Inland President John Dalton earlier this month.

“It is quite an amazing gift,” Dalton said. “It was just a case of she admired our organization and felt that this would be a good use for her bequest.”

Inland, a 48-bed hospital, is an affiliate of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems.

The woman started out with $200,000 and put it in the hands of Chuck Bickford, a wealth management officer at the former Federal Trust Co. and successor institutions. Bickford handled the woman’s financial affairs for a half century.

“She was a lady who came from Massachusetts. She taught school,” Bickford said Friday. “Neither her or her brother ever married. She had nobody to leave the money to.”

Bickford and local attorney Wally Bushman created a perpetual trust fund to carry out the woman’s wishes. Earnings and growth from the fund will be reinvested, and an annual donation of 4 percent of the fund’s growth will be available to the hospital.

“This is going to grow in value over the years,” Bickford said. “This could become a 6, 7, 8 million-dollar trust fund and will help people long after I’m gone.”

Dalton said the woman admired the work done at Inland Hospital, the endowment came as a surprise and it wasn’t solicited by employees of the hospital or its philanthropic arm.

Decisions on how the money will be spent will be made on a recommendation made by hospital management to the institution’s board of trustees.

“The way the endowment is set up, the board has to authorize any expenditures,” Dalton said. “Unless there is something of a one-time programmatic nature, I imagine (expenditures) will be centered around capital (expenses).”

Bickford said the donor died last November, but she was clear about her wishes for her estate.

“She lived in nursing home in Waterville for eight or nine years,” he said. “When she died, she was 96 and she was sharp as the day is long.”

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