(Nov. 11) -- A retired civil servant and music lover from Scotland stunned her friends and family by leaving $7.5 million to New York's Metropolitan Opera, the New York Post has reported.
The gift amounted to nearly half the $16.5 million fortune of Edinburgh resident Mona Margaret Webster, a widow who died in August at age 96.
Webster visited Covent Garden in London regularly and was passionate about the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she became known and respected, the Scotsman newspaper reported.
In addition, Webster, a globetrotting bird-watcher, left nearly the same amount to the UK's Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
Webster and her late husband, Ted, who were married nearly 40 years, had no children.
"Everybody knew about Mona's love of opera and bird-watching, but the family are stunned at the level of generosity given to these two causes," a friend told the New York Post.
"Her friends and family I'm sure will be delighted her legacy will live on through her sizable donations."
Webster's five nieces and nephews couldn't be reached to comment.
"There just aren't enough hours in the day for all my interests," her friends recalled her saying, according to the Scotsman.
Webster had visited every continent on her bird-watching trips, where she saw and recorded more than 5,500 species of birds.
