ATHOL - Reading a letter in October accompanying the will of Anthony J. Ralys, former Athol Public Library Director Debra Blanchard said, she was excited to learn the library was given 90 percent of his estate.

The estate, she thought, might include the value of the small house on Warwick Avenue where he had lived with his late wife, or maybe a little more. The estate attorney, Pamela Oddy, quietly named an investment account with more than $1.4 million.

"Literally, I gasped and almost fell out of my chair," Ms. Blanchard said. "I asked her to repeat it so I was sure she had not made a mistake."

Ms. Blanchard said that to this day the amount stuns her.

"That normal hard-working people like (Mr. and Mrs.) Ralys can save that much money and then bequest it to an institution that benefits the entire community is simply amazing," she said.

Mr. Ralys, by all accounts a quiet man who ran a barber shop for 38 years, took the community by surprise when he left almost $1,428,000 of an estate of more than $1.6 million, to the library. The donation is by far the largest donation to the town library since Laroy Starrett provided land and the Carnegie Foundation donated $22,000 to build it in 1914. Ms. Blanchard said the largest previous donations were $102,000 given in memory of Edwin Hale and $80,000 from the proceeds of a home left to the library by Amelia Gibson.

Library Director Jean Shaughnessy said they were amazed by the donation, and she and the library board of trustees appreciate the generosity and what it means for the community.

"It's wonderful," she said. "It is always appreciated when someone donates to the library, but this goes way beyond appreciation."

Mr. Ralys died June 16, 2014, at 89, leaving behind $1,632,000. Of that, about $1,428,000 went to the library, $79,000 to nephew Thomas A. Ralys, another $79,000 to the estate of niece Jacqueline M. Ralys and the rest to estate expenses. About $1,439,000 was from a Wells Fargo investment account, $77,000 from an Athol Savings Account and $1,056, the value of household furniture, tools and equipment. Also, $94,000 was gained by the sale of real estate and the rest from various refunds, interest earned and sale of stock.

Mrs. Shaughnessy said she is not entirely sure why Mr. Ralys left the money to the library but is sure it was in part to honor his wife, an avid reader who often visited the library. Mrs. Ralys died in 2002 at 76. The library had been in the couple's will for a long time, but Ms. Oddy told library officials that, after Mrs. Ralys died, her husband increased the amount in her honor, and to honor her love of the library.

The will is very specific, stipulating the money can be used for renovations, additions or building improvements to the library. Mrs. Shaughnessy said the intent of the trustees' policy is to preserve the principal and spend only from the interest. The money will be invested with Bartholomew & Co., an investment management firm in Worcester. She said the library will not likely need to spend money on major renovations or additions in the near future. The town spent $8.5 million to fully renovate and expand the building in 2013. She said there could be small things to pay for over the years, but the money will be allowed to accrue interest and only be used as needed. The library project bond is expected to be paid off by 2017.

Thomas Ralys, who served as co-executor of the estate with his sister, Jacqueline, until she died, said he was surprised to learn of the amount of money his aunt and uncle saved and earned from investment. He said most of the money was invested in municipal bonds early on in their lives and it grew to a small fortune. He said his sister was more aware of the money, as she cared for her uncle for years after her aunt died. He said learning of the will and how much the library would receive was difficult, especially for his sister. He said there was some expectation she would have been compensated for her care, but Mr. Ralys said he respects his uncle's decision to give the money to the library.

"It never was my money to get," he said. "He did leave us some. They never had kids, and they really must have loved the library."

Mr. Ralys said his aunt and uncle spent very little money. When he and his sister went through the house, which his uncle built in 1953, it was little changed from when he would visit there in the 1950s. He said he and his uncle had a good relationship and talked a lot, but the conversation never really got around to his uncle's history, including military service. Letters found in the house are only now beginning to shed a little light on their lives. There are letters to relatives and letters from Mr. Ralys to his parents during World War II, assuring them he was being treated well after his plane was shot down and he was interned in Sweden.

Ms. Blanchard said she remembers Mrs. Ralys as one of her favorite customers when she worked at the library while in high school.

"She was bubbly and always had a smile on her face," she said. "She was very interested in what you were up to or reading."

Ms. Blanchard said she remembers her reading mystery novels and has a vivid memory of her beautiful dark hair and rosy cheeks.

The Ralys were married for 51 years. Mrs. Ralys worked for Thompson Insurance Co. for 40 years. James E. Herbert, now co-owner of Cornerstone Insurance Co., said Mrs. Ralys was office manager at Thompson Insurance and was very outgoing.

"She personally knew everyone who came into the office," he said.

Mr. Herbert said people who could have mailed in their payments would come into the office to greet her.

"She would chat with everybody," he said.

Mr. Ralys was the opposite of his wife, Mr. Herbert said.

"He was pretty quiet, almost reclusive," he said.

Mr. Ralys was born in Athol, the son of Lithuanian immigrants. He worked for L.S. Starrett Co. in Athol before World War II and later operated Tony's Barber Shop on Exchange Street. During World War II, he joined the Army Air Corps and served as a crew member of a B-24 bomber with the 446th Bomb Group. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant and flew five missions over enemy-occupied territory before his plane was damaged by flak on June 20, 1944. The damaged plane successfully landed and the crew spent five months interned in Sweden.

Ms. Blanchard said her only interaction with Mr. Ralys was when his brother Frank reupholstered all the furniture in her house and Mr. Ralys helped him bring the furniture back to the house.

"I don't think I ever heard him say five words, very quiet, but polite and nice," she said.

Kevin Mack, a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Ralys, said that knowing the small house Mr. and Mrs. Ralys lived in, he was extremely surprised by the amount of the bequest.

"What a great thing to do to donate that to the library," he said.