GEORGE SAMUEL ZOLLINGER v. WATCHTOWER SOCIETY was the 1948-5? Michigan CONTEST of the WILL executed by testatrix Henrietta May Riley, whom had inherited a sizable estate when her husband, Dr. William Henry Riley, had died in 1941, and her "wealthy" unmarried only child had died in 1942.
In 1948, the value of the Riley Estate was uncertain, but was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Riley Estate consisted of several real properties in Virginia and Battle Creek, Michigan, but also included unspecified valuable Oil and Gas investments, which were managed by a Texan named Almon J. White.
The creation of the Henrietta M. Riley Trust on or about 1970 appears to have coincided with the death of Almon White in 1970. George Zollinger (Tennessee) was a brother of Henrietta M. Riley, whom had been left only $1000.00, (and possibly a monthly annuity). Sister, Essie Jane Davis, of Albuquerque, N. M., was left two lots in Battle Creek, $5000.00, and $100.00 a month for life. Siblings, James G. Zollinger of Burlington, Colorado, Thaddeus G. Zollinger, and Ethel Betsie Bolton were left only $50.00 a month for life. Notably, Thaddeus and Ethel predeceased Henrietta, and the three surviving siblings died only one, two, and six years later.
Thus, little money was paid out by the estate under the annuity provisions. A bequest of $5000.00 was made to Almon J. White of San Antonio, Texas. Daughter Marian White received $3000.00. The Whites are believed to be relatives.
Henrietta M. Riley also gave $1000.00 to the Battle Creek, Michigan Company of Jehovah's Witnesses to purchase the Upton Avenue lot on which the Battle Creek Kingdom Hall was constructed.
The residue, which was nearly all of the Estate of Henrietta M. Riley, was left to the WatchTower Society. This lawsuit also included the dispute as to which state had jurisdiction over Henrietta M. Riley's estate given that she had lived part time in the state of Virginia beginning in 1942 until her death in 1948. Outcome is unknown, although the MILLIONS OF DOLLARS received from the estate trust would seem to indicate that the WatchTower Society came out with most if not all of such.
In 2019-20, the Henrietta M. Riley Trust distributed roughly $825,000.00 to the WatchTower Society, and currently has remaining assets of roughly $3.1 MILLION.
Besides the gum-flapping about the investment choices of the Trustee, one realistic SCANDAL is the fact that Henrietta M. Riley was a PROMINENT SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST for most of her life. Henrietta May Zollinger had been born in Wisconsin in 1871. The Zollingers had become SDAs in 1874. George S. Zollinger, plaintiff in this civil lawsuit, remained a loyal SDA, and one of his grandsons, Robert "Bob" Zollinger became a prominent SDA leader. We have not been able to uncover WHY or WHEN Henrietta M. Riley parted company with the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Curiously, the funeral of Henrietta M. Riley was officiated by a local BAPTIST minister.
Henrietta May Zollinger (1871-1948) met and married (1897) her husband, Dr. William Henry Riley (1862-1941), during the six years that he taught neurology at the University of Colorado - Boulder, and served as the Superintendent of the SDA's Colorado Sanitarium in Boulder. William Henry Riley, Jr., was born in Boulder in 1900. In 1902, the Rileys moved back to Battle Creek, Michigan, where they both worked at the famous SDA sanitarium for decades. Henrietta M. Riley graduated from the medical school at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, and worked as a physician's assistant there.
Internationally renown Dr. William H. Riley was a director, faculty member, and physician at the facility. The Rileys knew and worked with Ellen G. White and the Kellogg brothers, and counted as patients dignitaries such as U.S. Presidents. Every knowledgable SDA member knew Dr. William Riley through his many books, booklets, and SDA publication articles.
Unmarried only child, attorney William H. Riley, Jr., predeceased Henrietta M. Riley in 1942. Junior had graduated from Harvard Law School in 1927, and had later earned a LLD from Columbia University. Junior later worked for three years in Wash D.C. on the staff of the United States Solicitor General. Socializing at the homes of SCOTUS justices and at the White House, Junior purchased a 1000 acre historic farm in Virginia. In April 1942, Junior had undergone an unspecified serious operation at Battle Creek Sanitorium. After recuperating at his mother's BC residence for three months, Junior returned home to Virginia only to die two weeks later.
Junior's estate actually appears to have been the source of his mother's greatest wealth.
Between the two law schools and Wash D.C., Junior had gone to the oil fields of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, where Junior did unspecified legal work for an apparently short period of time during the Great Depression. "Someone" had to initiate and supervise this unknown enterprise, which apparently resulted in quick and possibly immoral, unethical, or even dishonest wealth for Junior. It is a real possibility that the WatchTower Society has for decades benefited from the misfortunes and/or even robberies of multiple Oklahomans, Texans, and Kansans decimated by the Great Depression and northern "carpetbaggers" seeking to take advantage of such.
Grandpa!