Retired teacher's estate gives $1 million to Augusta college

<p>Marie Hulbert was the quintessential school marm _ well read, tidy and reserved.</p><p>A year after Hulbert's death, Augusta State University is adding "generous" to that list.</p><p>Hulbert, who taught junior high and high school biology in Georgia for 35 years, bequeathed $1 million to the university, officials said. The money likely will go to establish an endowment in education or science, said Helen Hendee, executive director of development and alumni relations at Augusta State.</p><p>"It won't be just spent on bricks and mortar or a project _ it will be perpetual," Hendee said. "This is not something that happens all the time."</p><p>Hulbert, who never married and who is survived by only one cousin, decided in the early 1990s to give money to Augusta State after taking continuing education classes there, said Iva Williamson, administrator of Hulbert's will. Williamson said Hulbert used the classes as an outlet while taking care of her aging parents in the 1970s.</p><p>"She lived on Glenn Avenue, which is five blocks from the college," Williamson said. "She would walk to take classes. It was a chance to get away to do something she particularly enjoyed."</p><p>Hulbert was born in Augusta in 1910. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a master's degree from Duke University.</p><p>She served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II.</p><p>While she was alive, Hulbert also donated artwork _ including an original painting by John J. Audubon _ to the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Williamson said.</p><p>Her donation to Augusta State was a combination of money she had saved over time and money she inherited from her parents, Williamson said. Williamson said she did not know the size of the inheritance.</p><p>"It's amazing when you think that she was a schoolteacher and that she had saved this money all her life," Williamson told the Augusta Chronicle.</p><p>Bea Kuhlke, a former student of Hulbert's, said the teacher would speak softly during class so that her students had to be quiet to hear the lecture.</p><p>"She controlled the class better than any teacher I've ever had," Kuhlke said. "Everybody was terrified of her."</p><p>Kuhlke, whose mother was best friends with Hulbert, said Hulbert would visit her house almost every Friday carrying two cold bottles of Coca-Cola. Sometimes, she would leave a spider lily on the porch.</p><p>Kuhlke said she was surprised when she heard about Hulbert's gift to the university.</p><p>"I assumed she had accumulated money over the years because she didn't spend any," the Aiken, S.C., resident said. "She was very careful with her money."</p>

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