Several years before his death in 2002, at age 88, Robert T. Keeler drew up a will to make his intentions clear. His wife and family were his primary beneficiaries. Also on the list were his secretary and housekeeper, a church, seminary, and medical center, and Dartmouth College, his alma mater.
Keeler didn’t name a dollar amount for Dartmouth, choosing instead to leave a percentage of his estate, but he did specify how he wanted the money used: for the “sole purpose of upgrading and maintaining its golf course.” When Dartmouth asked for the flexibility to use the money for other purposes, the family said no.
