Florida professor Cris Hassold truly loved his students—until the end. When he passed away in 2020 at the age of 89, he left most of his P156 million savings to the students who were a part of his life.
His will named 36 people, of whom 31 were his former students. Each received an amount ranging from P1.4 million to P31 million, depending on how close they were to him and how much he saw their need.
One of the recipients, Archer, could hardly believe it when he received P5.5 million. “I thought I read it wrong. I actually counted the zeros,” he said.
Hassold never married or had children, so he treated his students as his own. He would often take them to dinners to ask them about their dreams in life. “What do you want to do? How will you get there?” – were just a few of his questions.
Some also said that Hassold was the first person to give them full acceptance—something they had never experienced from their own family. He was a professor who not only taught, but truly cared.
