The Servant Who Inherited the House She Cleaned For Forty Years

The Servant Who Inherited the House She Cleaned For Forty Years For thirty years a woman named Thelma Howard kept the refrigerator on Carolwood Drive stocked with the cold hot dogs Walt Disney ate standing up in his coat, and she quietly folded away the studio stock he handed her every Christmas and birthday. She cooked his meals, played gin rummy with the family, answered to the household nickname Foo Foo, and was called the real life Mary Poppins by Walt himself. She never sold a single share. When she died her estate was worth more than nine million dollars, split roughly in half between her son Michael and a foundation that still funds arts education for children across Los Angeles County today. This is the story of the woman at the center of that house, the hidden fortune that grew inside a life of service, and the quiet loyalty that outlasted the very kitchen where it all began. Sources: Morgan Brennan (2013). "Exclusive: The $90 Million Carolwood Estate Once Owned By Walt Disney." Forbes. "Thelma Howard." Wikipedia, citing People Magazine (November 21, 1994) and the Los Angeles Times (October 24, 1994). People Magazine (November 21, 1994). Los Angeles Times (October 24, 1994). "Walt's Women: Two Forgotten Influences." MousePlanet. "Thelma Pearl Mill Howard (1913 to 1993)." Find a Grave. "Carolwood Pacific Railroad." Wikipedia. "The Birthplace of Imagineering: Walt's Barn." Designing Disney. "Disney Family Home on Carolwood Drive." WanderDisney.