Movie enthusiast left his estate to Monroe Co. Historical Association — on one condition

A deceased man donated most of his estate, including money, land, and other possessions, to the Monroe County Historical Association (MCHA) — on one condition.

Roy Pipher was born in East Stroudsburg on Dec. 26, 1939, and went to school in the area, graduating from Stroud Union High School 1957, and East Stroudsburg State College in 1962, majoring in social studies and English, according to his obituary.

Growing up, Pipher was into movies, books, and theater. Whenever he went to the theaters, he would write full reviews of movies he saw. He would also take bus trips to New York City to visit museums and watch plays.

“Very educated guy, his house was full of so many books, we couldn’t even get rid of them,” said Mark Garrahan, who is a first cousin once removed from Pipher. “He was really interested in movies and so a lot of them related to movies.”

In 1964, Pipher earned a master’s degree in English from Marshall University in West Virginia. He taught in the English department as a grad assistant while there.

From 1963 until his retirement in 2002, Pipher taught English at multiple schools, including Randolph Central High School in New York, Hartford County Community College in Maryland, and Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke.

According to his obituary, Pipher devoted himself to researching his book, "A History of the Movie Theatres in Monroe County, PA," after his retirement.

“I just think it was his little escape world, was to turn on movies and disappear into whatever was going on, on the screen, and it was a lifelong thing,” said Garrahan. “I guess he noticed movie theaters disappearing around Stroudsburg and Monroe County, like they are anywhere, and thought somehow it was his duty to collect information on them and publish a book.”

His book was published in 2010 and he sold a copy to the MCHA for $14.

Pipher, who was gay but never formally came out, was also working on two books related to his sexuality. According to Garrahan, one book was an autobiography on his experiences as a closeted gay man, and the other was a novel he wrote in college. In his writings, Pipher granted permission for others to publish these books after his death.

According to Garrahan, Pipher conducted a lot of his research at the MCHA. He believes that the MCHA’s role in getting Pipher's book published, along with his family’s deep roots in Stroudsburg and the rest of the county, were factors in his decision to donate the majority of his estate to them upon his death.

Garrahan stated that the only condition that the MCHA had to follow to obtain his estate was to accept his collection of movie reviews he had written throughout his life.

“That was his condition, as long as Monroe County Historical Society agreed to take them, I don’t even think they were required to preserve them,” said Garrahan. “I mean I hope they did, I hope that they make them available to students to study at some point in the future, it’d be interesting to see what his perspective was over the many decades of movies, but that was it.”

MCHA Executive Director Amy Leiser confirmed that the MCHA still possesses Pipher's movie reviews, and that they plan to honor him when construction on Stroud Mansion's expansion is finished.

“Roy Pipher was a kind, quiet, and gentle man who spent hundreds of hours conducting research in our library,” emailed Leiser. “His book, ‘A History of the Movie Theatres in Monroe County, PA,’ proudly sits on our library shelves.”

Expansion on the Stroud Mansion broke ground in June of 2023 and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2025. The cost of the project is expected to be just north of $6 million.

More: Monroe County Historical Association breaks ground on new Heritage Center

Garrahan said he was thankful that Pipher had the spirit to do what he did.

“It’s not like it’s all being funded by Roy, but a nice chunk of it was,” Garrahan said. Pipher left 96% of his estate to the MCHA, with the rest going to Garrahan and another family member.

Garrahan also mentioned how special the Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg area is to him, recalling riding his bike on the Levee Loop Trail, roller skating at Big Wheel, and learning to fish at Paradise Trout Hatchery; and how he was thankful that a family member gave back to the area he holds dear.

“The idea that this member of my family who really felt as a bit of an outsider, not just to Stroudsburg, but to the whole world, because of who he was, has contributed something that’s going to be this lasting legacy for decades and generations,” said Garrahan. “That structure there, again, not all his money, but a nice chunk of it’s going to be, my guy, my family, put it there.”

Pipher died on Oct. 21, 2016, in Stroudsburg.

Max Auguliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him at MAugugliaro@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: In death, Monroe man helps fund Stroud Mansion expansion