The Millionaire in the Mobile Home

Perhaps because of her deep ties to St. Olaf College, no one should be surprised that Carolyn Amalie Granrud left $1-million to the institution upon her death last November at age 88.

But Ms. Granrud was not your typical million-dollar donor. She lived modestly in a mobile home in San Diego, having begun her career as a social worker in Minnesota before obtaining a degree in library science and working as a librarian and associate professor at San Diego State University. 

Her parents and two siblings were St. Olaf alums, all four of her grandparents taught there, and her father served on the board of regents.

“There were two prominent themes in her life,” said her brother, Robert Granrud: “All things Norwegian — St. Olaf College in particular — and reading and learning about the world within the confines of book covers.”

Her bequest, in addition to about $300,000 she had given earlier, will support scholarships at St. Olaf for children of Lutheran clergy. —Don Troop