St. Bernard gets largest gift ever

Montville - St. Bernard School has received a $330,000 gift, the largest single gift ever made to the school's endowment, the school announced Thursday.

The gift comes from the Philip and Hazel Bushnell Deschenes Trust.

According to the school, the couple left school before graduation because both had to work to support their widowed mothers. Philip Deschenes, who died in 2002 at 82, became a self-made businessman who gave money to students who had the drive to further their education but did not have the financial resources.

A nephew of the couple and trustee of the trust had previously set up scholarships at St. Bernard.

The gift pushes St. Bernard's total endowment over the $1 million mark, Betty Baillargeon, the school's advancement director, said in a press release.

St. Bernard is a private, Catholic college preparatory school sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers.