WILMINGTON, MA — The Wilmington Memorial Library received an astonishing $350,000 donation earlier this month from the trust of a former Wilmington resident.
Barbara Allen Johnson, 96, passed away on January 8, 2015, in Portola Valley, California, where she lived for more than 50 years.
Johnson spent her childhood in Wilmington. As her obituary noted, “[Barbara and her husband Bill] made Portola Valley their home in 1960, but her heart never completely left Wilmington.”
Library Director Tina Stewart was first notified that the library was named in Johnson’s will in March 2015. Stewart wasn’t given an amount at that time.
“I figured it was going to be another $5,000 donation,” said Stewart, noting that Johnson previously donated $5,000 to the library in 2003 when her sister, Frankline Allen, a former Wilmington Library Trustee, passed away.
After not hearing anything for over a year, Stewart decided to follow up and call Johnson’s cousin, Carlyn Ellms, a Trustee to the Barbara A. Johnson Fund.
“She asked me if I was sitting down,” recounted Stewart. “And then, when she revealed the amount of $350,000, I asked her to repeat herself. I couldn’t believe it!”
Stewart couldn’t recall the library ever receiving a donation larger than $10,000 prior to Johnson’s remarkable gift.
What Will The Money Be Used For?
“The Board of Library Trustees have authorization on the expenditure of the funds,” explained Stewart. “They have not met since we have received the donation.”
“I believe the Trustees will concur with my recommendation that the $350,000 be earmarked for a significant library improvement and not be used for regular operational expenses or maintenance,” continued Stewart.
The Board’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 1. In addition to discussing the donation, the Trustees will speak with Town Manager Jeff Hull, Assistant Town Manager Kendra Amaral, and Planning Director Valerie Gingrich about the library’s future in the context of the town’s ongoing facility master plan process.
Why Was The Donation Made?
Stewart did not know Johnson, but contends she must be a big believer in the mission of public libraries, noting she also left money to her hometown Friends of the Portola Valley Library organization, of which she was a member.
Stewart also pointed to the fact that Johnson’s sister, Frankline Allen, was a member of the Wilmington Library Board of Trustees for twenty years (1945-1965). Stewart even located a photo from the Town Crier archives of Allen standing with the building committee that helped plan the construction of the current library, which opened in 1969.
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