Kansas City woman leaves $2M to Jesuits

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas City woman who grew up on a farm, worked as a teacher and lived on a pension left $2 million to a Catholic order when she died at age 100.

Anna Kurzweil donated $2 million to the Society of Jesus, a Catholic order known as Jesuits upon her death in September 2012, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/1obqEql).

Relatives said the money had to be the result of wise investing because Kurzweil never earned more than $20,000 a year as a teacher and then lived on a thousand-dollar-a-month pension while she cared for her mother. She never married and had no children.

"Nobody knew she had that kind of money," said John Van De Vyvere, a nephew who lives in Raytown. "I think even the people at the bank were surprised."

Kurzweil had been a longtime member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and lived in a small house nearby.

John Fitzpatrick, a provincial assistant for the Jesuits, told Religion News Services that the gift was unrestricted, meaning the order may use the money however it wishes.

The Rev. Luke Byrne, who had been at St. Francis Xavier in the 1970s, remembered Kurzweil as independent and faithful. He was surprised when he learned of her gift.

"Not that she gave it to the church, but that she had it to give anyone," said Byrne, who has retired. "This was a working-class parish, and I certainly don't remember her weekly offering standing out."

Family members say she was sharp, thrifty and strong-willed.

"But that came from living by herself all those years," said Harold Kurzweil, another nephew. "She was a good person."

Anna Kurzweil's will also included $5,000 for each of several nieces and nephews.