ADAMS TWP — The foundation of a former resident of the Mars School District has donated $20,000 to establish a scholarship for district students.

The school board directors were surprised at their Nov. 4 meeting to hear from high school Principal Todd Kolson that the Edward and Bethel Kean Charitable Foundation recently donated the money.

The bequest stipulates that the money must be used for scholarships, so the board voted to accept the donation and forward it to the Mars Planet Foundation for that purpose.

Kolson admitted that he knew little about the Keans, and received the check from the foundation’s administrators. He only knew that the Kean Foundation provides donations to worthwhile organizations sporadically and without fanfare.

Bethel Kean’s obituary appeared in the Butler Eagle on July 6, 2010. That item stated that Kean was born in Greene County, but listed the Florida resident as “formerly of Cooperstown.” It listed those who preceded her in death as her sisters, Nellie Mae and Neva F. Bell.

She was “the beloved wife of the late Edward Kean,” the obituary stated. Survivors included nieces and nephews, and a memorial service was held in Allison Park, Allegheny County.

The obituary did not mention the 50 years of financial support the Keans provided to organizations like St. Barnabas Charities and the St. Barnabas Free Care Fund.

That quiet philanthropy, according to a statement from St. Barnabas Health System, resulted in the Kean Theater on the health system’s campus in Gibsonia being named after the Keans. The statement said Edward Kean died in 1993.

Bonnie Weaver, who is a Mars School Board member and president of the Planet Foundation, said the donation is the largest the foundation has received in its nearly three years of existence.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Weaver said Monday. “It makes opportunities available to our students that will enhance their educational experience.”

A call to the North Palm Beach, Fla., law office that administers the Kean foundation resulted in contact information for Bill and Mary Margaret Schildknecht of Cecil Township, Greene County.

The Schildknechts direct the foundation, and decide where the money should go.

Bill Schildknecht said Tuesday that he and his wife decades ago bought an acre from the Keans in Middlesex Township, and their properties abutted one another. Their properties were in the Mars School District.

“We became like family,” Schildknecht said of his relationship with the childless couple.

He said Bethel Kean grew up on a farm in Greene County, and her husband was born in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood, where he was a paperboy as a child.

Schildknecht said that Edward Kean served in both World Wars, and married Bethel in the mid-1940s upon his return from World War II.

The couple settled on Overbrook Road in Middlesex Township, where Kean set up his large and successful excavating and road construction business.

“He built roads, tunnels and bridges all over Pennsylvania and beyond,” Schildknecht recalled.

During their time in Middlesex Township, the Keans supported many local institutions, including the Mars Home for Youth, St. John Specialty Care and St. Barnabas Health System. Bethel Kean served as a volunteer at St. Barnabas for many years, Schildknecht said.

They also belonged to the Butler Country Club in Penn Township.

“Ed played golf there every day,” Schildknecht said.

After retirement, the couple bought a home in Palm Beach County, Fla., and lived there in the winter. As they grew older, they made Florida their permanent home.

After Edward’s death, Schildknecht said Bethel set up the charitable foundation. She wanted the donations to mainly go to educational institutions, and generous donations have been received by Waynesburg University, Washington and Jefferson College, Mars Home for Youth and the St. Barnabas Health System since then.

“They were a wonderful, generous couple,” Schildknecht said.

School board President Dayle Ferguson said he and the board appreciate the Keans’ generous gesture.

“As a school district and community that values education, we share the Kean Foundation’s important mission and gratefully accept this generous donation on behalf of our students’ academic pursuits,” Ferguson said. “We sincerely thank the Edward & Bethel Kean Foundation for recognizing and supporting the Mars Area School District and the students it serves.”

Kolson said the scholarships are to be given out in $1,000 to $2,000 increments.