Queens Widow Left $250,000 Fortune to Harold Camping, Family Outraged
Judgment Day May 21, 2011 ads are still seen on New York City subway today, two weeks after the failed prediction of Harold Camping. As much as the notorious legacy of the failed Doomsday prediction lingers in the air, a widow and her investment in the Doomsday preacher's radio station is fueling the anger of her family.
On May 2, just weeks before the doomsday, Doris Schmitt, 78, passed away alone in her Rosedale home.
Among her $300,000 savings, she left around $250,000 to the Family Radio ministry.
According to Schmitt's will, the remaining $50,000 would be divided between two nieces. One of them, Eileen Heuwetter, 64, said: 'If it had been a cancer organization, fine. God bless them.
'But Camping's just not a good person.'
The family members went public regarding Schmitt's fortune because they are outraged about the failed doomsday prophet, Harold Camping. The money can be better spent at other charities, they said.
Schmitt's life was filled with tragedies, struggling with alcohol herself, and losing one of her sons because of cancer at the age of 16, the other with drugs and alcohol. Once Schmitt turned to Family Radio for comfort, it became her entire life, according to Heuwetter.
The family members consulted Schmitt's lawyer, but was told that nothing could be done.
It's just so frustrating because I know there's nothing I can do about it - this man is going to get hundreds of thousands of dollars from my aunt, said Heuwetter. And she wasn't a rich woman.
The failure of the Doomsday prediction was a joke for many people, but for those who took it seriously and their families, the consequences remain devastating. Many followers were disappointed and their families remain divided.
Harold Camping, on the other hand, revised his Doomsday prediction, saying the actual end would come on October 21, 2011.
Family Radio network is almost entirely funded by donations. The station has received contributions of over $160 million to date. In 2009 alone, $18 million was contributed, according to IRS filings.
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