PHIPPSBURG – After retiring from a career as a physical education teacher, Alice H. Minott moved to Phippsburg in 1980. But her passion for her adopted hometown didn’t become evident until after her death at age 79.

Minott, who died last year in a Topsham nursing home, never married and had no close relatives. She left more than $460,000 from her estate to be divided among town government, her church, the local land trust, the town’s historical society and Morse High School in Bath.

“I never knew her, but she must have been incredibly generous,” said Chilloa Young, chairman of the trustees at the Albert F. Totman Library. “Her donation came out of the blue. We’re very pleased and very surprised.”

A Bath native whose family moved to Portland when she was a child, Minott had roots in Phippsburg, where her parents had a summer home overlooking the Kennebec River.

“Alice loved Phippsburg. She spent her summers here and had many fond memories,” said Ada Haggett, a distant cousin who served as Minott’s estate representative.

Minott served as a physical education instructor at Rutgers University and was a director of women’s athletics at Rollins College in Florida. She ended her career as a civilian instructor with the military, teaching physical education classes at bases around the world for 30 years.

When she retired, Minott moved into her father’s 200-year-old Cape Cod-style home in Phippsburg, turning it into a bed and breakfast.

Mark Wilson, pastor of the Phippsburg Congregational Church, says Minott was a loyal parishioner, who came to church every week and sat in the same pew. She also served as a deacon.

“She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind,” Wilson said. “She was very blunt, very honest. I liked that about her, but some people didn’t. I’d describe her as a grand lady.”

In her later years, Minott experienced numerous health problems. She died on Feb. 9, 2000, just a few days before her 80th birthday.

Four town departments were remembered in Minott’s will. The library, the Fire Department, the Rescue Department and the Recreation Department will receive a total of $167,636, or $41,909 each. Voters approved the donation at a recent town meeting.

Haggett says Minott asked that $41,909 be given to the Phippsburg Historical Society and to the Phippsburg Land Trust.

She also left $125,727 to the Phippsburg Congregational Church, and $125,727 to establish a scholarship fund at Morse High School. The scholarship money can only be used to benefit a Bath or Phippsburg student who plans to pursue a career in health or physical education.

Haggett says the sale of Minott’s riverfront home combined with smart investments and savings allowed Minott to accumulate so much money. Since she had no children, Minott in her final will turned her thoughts toward the town she had grown to love so much.

“That much money certainly grabs your attention,” said Roger Therriault, a Bath city attorney who counts himself among the many Phippsburg residents who didn’t know Minott. “It doesn’t happen all that often, especially when local government benefits.”

Minott’s longtime friend and neighbor, Jean Flink, says Minott may not have been widely known in Phippsburg, but her legacy will have an impact on peoples’ lives for years to come.

“I don’t think people really understood how generous Alice was until after her death,” she said. “My only regret is that the people who raised their hands at town meeting didn’t know her that well.”