Bundle of Joy for Planned Parenthood : Mysterious Benefactor, an ‘Unwanted Child,’ Leaves $200,000

Afrail man with a chin full of white stubble, dressed in bold plaids and a baseball cap, walked into the office of the executive director of Planned Parenthood and waited, clutching a blue airline bag.

Mark Salo, the head of the San Diego family planning organization, still remembers the first time he met Edward John O’Toole more than a decade ago. Puzzled as to why this oddly dressed man had come to see him, Salo politely asked if he could be of any help.

The old man tugged open the zipper of his Pan Am flight bag, and Salo found himself staring at a bundle of bonds--$50,000 worth.

“I want Planned Parenthood to have this money,” O’Toole said.

11-Year Acquaintanceship

And so began a strange, 11-year acquaintanceship between Salo and this brightly clad, mysterious visitor who, at age 91, died last month and left the local Planned Parenthood affiliate the sole beneficiary of his life’s fortune: Nearly $200,000.

“He told me that he had been an unwanted child who had been left by his mother,” Salo said. “He never went into details, but it seemed to bother him terribly that he had been abandoned.

“He didn’t want that to happen to any other child, and that’s why he wanted to give us the money.”

At O’Toole’s request, Salo said, the money will be used to help finance education programs that stress family planning and services such as prenatal care, birth control, sterilization and abortion.

Despite the 11-year relationship, Salo learned little else about the enigmatic O’Toole, who never married and had no children.

“Mr. O’Toole was perfectly lucid,” Salo said. “He said things in a straightforward way, and told us that this is what he wanted to do. I couldn’t believe he walked to my office carrying all these bonds. I was worried about his security. But he brought them along to show that he meant what he said.”

Hesitated in Accepting

O’Toole first walked into the Planned Parenthood office with his bonds on July 7, 1977. Salo hesitated in accepting such a large gift, suggesting that O’Toole put the money in a trust. That way, O’Toole could receive the benefit of interest payments on his life’s savings, Salo reasoned. Upon his death, if O’Toole still insisted that Planned Parenthood receive his fortune, the organization would graciously accept the principal in the trust.

O’Toole welcomed this suggestion and was particularly pleased about establishing a revocable trust.

“He was terribly concerned about what would happen to him if he got sick . . . how he would pay the bills,” Salo said.

A few days later, O’Toole and Salo met with a bank officer at San Diego Trust & Savings to set up the trust.

To Salo’s surprise, O’Toole reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a life insurance policy and gave it to the bank officer.

Moments later, from another pocket, O’Toole withdrew a certificate of deposit and told the officer to “put that in there, too.” Salo watched in amazement as the trust approached a value of $70,000.

Since then, however, Salo and O’Toole had rarely met.

‘Never Wanted Anything Back’

“During the 11 years I knew the man, he came into my office maybe a total of six or seven times,” Salo said. “He never called, just showed up. In all the time I knew him, I think we spent less than three hours together. He never wanted to take up much of my time. He never wanted anything back. I would say, ‘Hello, Mr. O’Toole, how are you today?’ There was some small talk, and then he left. He was a nice old man.”

During those short visits, O’Toole rarely disclosed details of his personal life, but often mentioned his passion for travel.

“I remember Mr. O’Toole coming in one day saying that he was off to Brazil and just stopped in to say hi,” Salo said. “He never went on those fancy cruise ships. I learned from him that he went on merchant ships that haul cargo. He mentioned South America often.”

Then, for a while, Salo heard nothing from O’Toole. After more than a year of silence, Salo received a note earlier this month.

But it wasn’t from O’Toole; it was a note from San Diego Trust & Savings.

Edward O’Toole had died Nov. 15, 1988, the note said. It also said that Planned Parenthood was the sole beneficiary of O’Toole’s trust. A call to the trust officer revealed that the organization would be the recipient of nearly $200,000.

Wanted People to Think

“It’s a shame that we don’t know more about this man,” Salo said. “All I know is that he had a very unhappy childhood and he wanted to make sure that people could have babies that they really want and love. He wanted people to really think about having children. And that’s what Planned Parenthood tries to do.”

Salo said Planned Parenthood will establish the Edward O’Toole Trust and use the special fund as an endowment. The interest raised from the trust will have unrestricted use to finance the group’s programs, he said.

“This way, all the money won’t be gone by the first of the year,” Salo said. “The contribution will last as long as Planned Parenthood exists. I think Mr. O’Toole would like that.”