SALISBURY — Catawba College received a $924,552 donation Monday from the estate of an alumna and her husband.

Roy H. Snider never attended Catawba College, but his wife, Sarah Brown Snider, did.

While in Florida, Sarah worked until her retirement for Seacrest Petroleum Company, a Division of Gulf Oil Corporation in Boynton, at the company owned and operated by her husband.

When the couple returned to Salisbury in their later years, Sarah reconnected with Catawba. Catawba’s Vice President of Development Rex Otey said the two were “steady supporters” of the school, and made modest donations to the school’s Annual Fund each year.

But Sarah died on Oct. 26, 2012, and Roy survived her for only a year, passing on Oct. 26, 2013. In his estate, Roy Snider remembered Catawba, leaving the institution gifts totaling $924,552. It was an unexpected donation.

“What a wonderful surprise to learn Catawba was included in the Snider estate,” Otey said.

Alumni and friends including the school as a beneficiary in their estate plans has happened before, he said, but the college is usually unaware of the contribution until after the donor’s passing.

“Some let us know in advance that they have made plans for Catawba after they pass, but still others hold that information close, and the facts only become known when they are deceased,” he said. “It makes us realize that we just don’t know how often Catawba truly impacts lives. I think the gift that Roy Snider made to Catawba tells that story in a very understated way.”

Snider’s gift to the college was unrestricted and could be used to address the most urgent or critical needs of the institution.

“Unrestricted dollars are the most difficult dollars to raise, so the Snider gift was a great blessing to Catawba,” Otey said.

Estate or planned gifts made to Catawba to date during the course of its comprehensive campaign total $1,912,392 and the Snider gift is included in that number.

For information concerning how you can make plans to include Catawba in your estate, contact Senior Development Associate Randy Southard at 704-640-3737 or via e-mail at jsouthar@catawba.edu.