ROSEVILLE –You wouldn’t have known Virgil Benedict Harrigan was a millionaire.

The longtime Roseville resident didn’t drive flashy cars, and his golf clubs were at least 10 years old.

But Harrigan – who died in January at age 91 – has left one of the largest bequests ever seen in the area, charity groups say about $5.5 million.

The gifts, which have stunned friends and charity officials, are just starting to be deposited into the bank accounts of 12 Placer County nonprofits.

“It really came out of the blue, so it was quite a shock,” said Ray Daniels, board president of St. Vincent de Paul of Roseville, which has received about $100,000 from the estate. “Our reaction was, ‘Thank God! Amen!’”

The fortune amounts to the entire estate of Harrigan and his late wife, Alta, and will fund groups working in education, homelessness and the environment, said attorney Guy Gibson, a longtime friend of Harrigan’s and his trustee.

A knack for real estate

A 1937 graduate of Roseville High School, Harrigan served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and opened his real-estate business, Harrigan & Associates, in Roseville in the mid-1960s.

Realtors who knew him said his honesty and ethics made him a success as a broker specializing in residential properties.

“He did probably the most business of anybody locally at the time,” said Kirk Doyle of Kirk Doyle Realty.

Realtor Fred Festerson Jr. recalled that when his family’s office flooded in 1986, Harrigan allowed them to move into his workplace.

“We were competitors. And I don’t think he ever charged us,” said Festerson, whose father knew Harrigan for decades. “That’s one of the things I’ll always remember about Virgil.”

* A frugal lifestyle *

Harrigan, who did not have children, wasn’t known for flashing his money around, longtime friend and golf buddy Al Dutra recalled. Rather than take a subscription to the Wall Street Journal, he would go to the library to read it. Some business partners said it was unclear whether he realized the full extent of his wealth.

“He would rather share a dinner with someone than buy a full one. And when he replaced a club it was usually a $5 club that was in a bargain barrel,” he said.

Still, he was generous when it came to others.

Upon retirement, he became interested in teaching other people to read, and volunteered for a Roseville library literacy program, said Roseville Mayor Gina Garbolino, who knew him for many years. In the late-1990s, he donated land to help open the North Roseville REC Center, an after-school program on High Street.

“What a remarkable thing to do in your last will and testament to make things even better in our community,” she said.

* Groups surprised at gifts *

In keeping with his low-key personality, Harrigan never told organizations benefiting from his estate of his plans.

“It was primarily what he wanted to do at the time of his death,” Gibson said.

Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, county superintendent, said she was stunned to learn Harrigan had left $540,000 for enrichment activities at the district’s special-needs program in Newcastle.

“We have had bequests before, but we’ve never had this amount,” she said.

Garbolino-Mojica said it’s unclear when Harrigan became aware of the Newcastle program, which is for severely developmentally disabled students.

“It’s heartwarming to say the least that he felt strongly enough that these children needed to be able to have additional enrichment activities,” she said.

“He didn’t spend a lot of money on himself,” Dutra said. “I don’t think he ever hesitated to write a check for a good cause. But he was never looking for the applause or recognition.”

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$5.5 million will be divided among:

The Dry Creek Conservancy

First United Methodist Church of Roseville homeless program

Homestart

Placer ARC

Placer County Library

System

Placer County Office of Education

Placer Land Trust

Rose Public Library’s adult literacy program

The Salvation Army

Shriner’s Hospital for Children

St. Vincent de Paul of Roseville

St. Rose School’s Monsignor Corcoran Tuition Aid Fund