Royer-Greaver School for Blind gets $1 million mystery gift
PAOLI » Royer-Greaves School for Blind has received the single largest donation in its 100-year history from the late Barbara A. Bochey of West Chester — a woman with no known ties to the school.
Royer-Greaves serves students and adults who have blindness or visual impairment coupled with an intellectual disability, autism or challenging behaviors. It recently marked the 100th anniversary of its founding, and leaders have been developing a strategic plan to ensure programs and campus continue to provide the best education and services possible.
“It is impossible to overstate the impact Ms. Bochey’s gift will have on Royer-Greaves students and adults for years to come,” said Royer-Greaves Executive Director Vicky Mayer. “We will meet needs we could not otherwise meet, and serve more people than we could have otherwise served — all thanks to a remarkable act of generosity.”
Barbara Bochey’s bequest is not just the single largest donation RoyerGreaves has ever received, it is larger than the school’s current investments, said Michele Kraynak, RoyerGreaves’ controller. “We are very solid fiscally, but this will help ensure the next 100 years of Royer-Greaves. To make such a difference without seeking recognition, it’s like we have an angel — a silent angel who donated this money to others who are very, very much less fortunate.”
There is no record of Barbara Bochey or her late husband, Thaddeus, previously interacting with RoyerGreaves. Ms. Bochey was not on the school’s mailing list, had never made a previous donation, and never signed the visitor’s log for a musical performance or other public event on campus.
“Barbara was a very compassionate person and a very empathetic person,” said attorney Bob Supplee, who represented the bank that was the executor of Ms. Bochey’s estate until he decided to retire. “I wish I knew what the connection was between her and (her late husband) Thaddeus and Royer-Greaves, but people don’t always tell you why.”
The few details about Ms. Bochey that Mayer and others at Royer-Greaves know came from Ms. Bochey’s will, her brief obituary, her husband’s obituary, and attorney Lisa Comber Hall, who now represents the estate executor: Barbara, whose maiden name was Price, was 74 when she died on Oct. 4, 2020; Thaddeus earned degrees from St. Joseph’s University and Villanova and was a chemist at Wyeth Labs. He was 73 when he died in 2001; There were two other beneficiaries in the will — a local hospital and a local Catholic parish.
This gift is one of the biggest Royer-Greaves milestones since Jessie Royer Greaves founded the school in 1921, two years after the death of her husband, Harry E. Greaves. People at Royer-Greaves have noticed a profound parallel:
“Jessie and Harry didn’t have children, but Jessie founded a school that changed the lives of many, many children who at the time were not accepted at other schools,” Mayer said. “Barbara and Thaddeus didn’t have children, but this gift will enable RoyerGreaves to positively impact the lives of children and adults, some of whom have not yet been born.”
The donated money will not be used right away, but is being set aside until the school’s current strategic planning process is completed.
“It’s essential that we use this money in a meaningful way that honors the Bochey legacy,” Mayer said.
The strategic plan will be finished by the end of the year, said Royer-Greaves Strategic Planning Consultant Jim Powers. “We’re looking at all of our existing programs — education, adult day program, adult residential, and Lifesharing
— and will analyze the data focusing on what we currently offer and projected needs,” he said. “We will be looking at both programs and our buildings. And once we understand future needs, we will initiate a capital campaign to fund them. The Bochey gift is an enormous first step, one that we are confidant will attract other donations and support.”