PBHA Trustees Agree to Amend Will, One Step Closer to $1.3M Windfall

Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) cleared another major hurdle in its effort to claim a $1.3 million bequest from the estate of Margret E. Rey Wednesday evening when its board of trustees unanimously agreed to amend Rey's will.

"I wasn't a bit surprised," said PBHA President Joseph M. Garland '00.

Last week, the executive board voted, also unanimously, to recommend that the trustees accept the amendments.

Rey, the creator of the mischievous storybook monkey Curious George, bequeathed 20 percent of her estate to PBHA. Her will divided the remaining 80 percent among 15 other non-profit organizations, with WGBH and the Longy School of Music receiving the next largest shares.

But Rey verbally amended the terms of her will before her death in November 1996, setting off over two years of legal confusion that are only now coming to a close.

Lay Lee Ong, Rey's long-term friend, proposed to amend the author's will to better reflect Rey's final wishes, but WGBH and several of the other beneficiaries opposed her changes.

As a result, no money could be distributed.

The many months of legal wrangling are now ending. Following Wednesday's vote, the three major beneficiaries--PBHA, WGBH and the Longy School--have all approved the amendments, and PBHA officials expect the other 13 beneficiaries to follow suit.

Garland said the $1.3 million grant will probably be used to fund summer camps, one of Rey's favorite programs.