Iowa carpenter — and secret millionaire — surprises strangers by sending them to college

Unbeknownst to even his closest friends, Dale Schroeder scrimped and saved for so long that by the time he was 86 years old, he had accumulated a fortune worth $3 million.

The Des Moines, Iowa, carpenter was a hard-working "blue collar, lunch pail kind of guy," his friend Steve Nielsen told KCCI. He had "church jeans and work jeans." Before he died in 2005, Schroeder told Nielsen about his $3 million — "I nearly fell out of my chair," Nielsen said — and how he wanted it spent. Schroeder, who never married and didn't have any living relatives, said he grew up poor and never had the chance to go to college, so he wanted to help young people further their education.

Since then, Schroeder's fortune has paid for 33 people to go to college. They call themselves "Dale's Kids," and they attended a get-together earlier this month to honor Schroeder. They have taken different career paths — some are teachers, others are doctors and therapists — but they all grew up in small Iowa towns, just like Schroeder. The only thing Schroeder hoped for was that the recipients would one day help the next generation. "You can't pay it back, because Dale is gone, but you can remember him and you can emulate him," Nielsen said. Catherine Garcia

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

YouTube

Watch On