The Rev. Jerry Falwell went on a shopping spree in the last decade before his death — for life-insurance policies. As a result, his death, on May 15, has become a windfall for Liberty University, which he founded.

The institution announced last week that it stands to collect $29-million in proceeds from insurance companies. The money will be used primarily to retire longstanding debts at the university, according to The News & Advance, a newspaper in Lynchburg, Va.

Jerry Falwell Jr., the minister’s son who is himself now the chancellor of Liberty, said his father used to laugh about the continual solicitations that he received from life-insurance companies, even though he had a history of heart problems and was in his 70s. Before he died, of a heart attack, he most recently bought a policy last September. —Martin Van Der Werf