Longtime Elkhart teacher leaves $1.5 million to Manchester University
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A retired Elkhart teacher has left $1.5 million to Manchester University.
Alice Dentler, who died Jan. 1, was a Manchester graduate and teacher for more than 30 years in Elkhart schools, according to a university news release.
Historical records reported by the university show Dentler spent much of her career at Samuel Strong School. She grew up in Mottville, Mich., just across the state line, and graduated in 1946 from Bristol High School where she belonged to the Girls Athletic Association and was a copy editor for the school newspaper.
She lived in Elkhart and worked as a clerk at Miles Laboratories out of high school before attending what was then Manchester College. She graduated from the college in 1953 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and began teaching at Samuel Strong in 1955.
Dentler would go on to teach in Elkhart until her retirement in 1985. Melanie Harmon, Manchester’s vice president for advancement, called Dentler “a quiet hero.”
“She was a regular contributor to Manchester over the years,” Harmon said in the university’s news release. “But she never let on that she planned such a large bequest.”
A close friend described her as an “old-school” teacher with a love of poetry and playing games outside, even in the winter, according to the university’s release. Dentler grew up poor and liked working with children in similar situations, sometimes paying for their activities.
“Manchester graduates make connections for life and work to make the world a better place,” Manchester President Stacy Young said in the release. “Alice Dentler’s legacy will live on in generations to come. I wish we could have thanked her in person.”