A New Jersey teacher who died in 2011 left the school district in which she taught $1 million from her estate.

Genevieve Via Cava was a special education teacher at Charles A. Selzer Elementary School in Dumont for over 40 years.

Friends say that the teacher was frugal, tough, yet incredibly generous and kind. They say that she clipped coupons and even often wore the same clothes in order to save money.

But what friends did not know was that Via Cava was secretly a millionaire. 

She left $1 million to the district for an annual $25,000 scholarship for students with special needs.

“That’s going to have a tremendous impact,” Dumont Superintendent Emanuele Triggiano says.

The school district plans to roll out the scholarship program in the 2019-2020 school year.

Friends say that the Via Cava, who died at age 88, also donated to the Salvation Army, two animal shelters and a hearing center.