Badger's will, drawn up in 1979, stipulated that upon his death his estate should be divided in equal portions among four beneficiaries: the Salvation Army, the Pine Tree Society for Handicapped Children and Adults in Bath, the Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers in Waterville, and Mayo Regional Hospital. The gift received by Mayo represents a partial distribution on the hospital's 25% share of the estate's value.

Badger, who died Sept. 17, 2003, was born in Parkman and had lived since 1970 on Pleasant Street in Sangerville with his wife, Margaret Leighton Badger. Mrs. Badger, who died June 2, 2002, at the age of 88, was a Sangerville native.

The Badgers had worked most of their lives in Guilford, Mr. Badger as a woolen mill supervisor and Mrs. Badger in the local bank.

The couple, who had been married many years, had no children and decided to donate their entire estate to charity.

"They lived very modestly and both saved their money. No one would have known they were well off -- they had a new car in the garage, but they hardly ever drove it," said Marion Race of Sangerville, who had been friends with Mrs. Badger since childhood.

Mrs. Race said the Badgers wanted to donate to worthy causes and selected Mayo since both had been satisfied with the care they received at the local hospital. "I was so pleased that they included Mayo in their will," said Mrs. Race, a volunteer at the hospital since 1978. She admitted she "put in a good word" for Mayo with the Badgers.

"Mayo is proud that hard-working local people like Kenneth and Margaret Badger thought enough of the hospital to remember us so generously in their will," said Tom Lizotte, Mayo's Director of Marketing and Development. "Donations from both planned giving and annual fundraising appeals are increasingly important for non-profit, community hospitals. Every contribution strengthens Mayo's ability to better serve our patients."

The Badger gift continues a tradition of philanthropy to Mayo that was begun in 1935 by Col. Edward J. Mayo, the Dover-Foxcroft benefactor for whom the hospital is named.