Manhattan heiress leaves $50,000 to each her nail technician, hairstylist and doorman in extensive handwritten will

  • Kaaren Parker Gray, 72, died of a heart attack on August 24 in her New York City home
  • On August 7 she hand wrote a ten-page will, bestowing money to her friends, family members, hair dressers, doorman and more
  • Gray bestowed about $3million by the end of the will, including gifts to various museums
  • But the handwritten will was never notarized or signed by witnesses
  • It is unknown what will happen with the funds until it is confirmed no notarized will had been created
  • The full extent of Gray's fortune was not immediately known 

A wealthy heiress from New York City bequeathed thousands of dollars to her hairdresser, housekeeper, doorman and nail technician after she died of natural causes.

Kaaren Parker Gray, 72, died of a heart attack on August 24 in her Upper East Side home, less three weeks after she wrote ten-page handwritten will without a witness. 

Since then, the people who she employed to help her get through her daily life have received handwritten letters explaining the funds she has bestowed upon them.

Kaaren Parker Gray, daughter of businessman Jack Parker, who was a a vice president of General Electric and later director of Pan Am and the Smithsonian Institution, wrote a ten-page hand-written will less than three weeks before she died. It was never notarized 

Kaaren Parker Gray, daughter of businessman Jack Parker, who was a a vice president of General Electric and later director of Pan Am and the Smithsonian Institution, wrote a ten-page hand-written will less than three weeks before she died. It was never notarized 

Gray, 72, left Jenny Kim, a 60-year-old nail technician at Echo Spa and Nail on First Avenue in New York City  $50,000 in her will

Gray, 72, left Jenny Kim, a 60-year-old nail technician at Echo Spa and Nail on First Avenue in New York City  $50,000 in her will

Nail technician Jenny Kim, 60, was shocked to discover her client of 12 years had left her $50,000. 

Kim, a married immigrant from Korea, was left the money because of her 'love and devotion', the letter, which was sent to her office, Echo Spa and Nail, said. 

'I feel good that she remembered me like that - not about the money,' Kim told the New York Daily News through a Korean translator.

When Gray wasn't at her homes in Arizona or Connecticut, she would visit Kim twice a week and liked to hear about the technician's two children and three grandchildren.

'She enjoyed having a massage on her hands and legs. She liked it nice and quiet so she could relax,' said Kim. 'She was a nice lady, very kind.' 

Gray last visited the salon on August 7, the same day she wrote out her ten-page will. The document was unwitnessed.

Gray's sprawling cursive handwriting grants amounts of $10,000 to some, $50,000 to others and $200,000 to $300,000 to various family members and friends, often only referred to by first name.

The heiress was the daughter of businessman Jack Parker, who was a a vice president of General Electric and later director of Pan Am and the Smithsonian Institution. 

She had three stepchildren who she remembered in her will. 

In one section of the document, she casually grants her house to someone, 'if he wants it'. Various couples were given funds to 'take a vacation in Scotland'. 

She bestowed her Lexus to someone called Shaun, 'for all those midnight runs with the alarm going off'.  

The heiress granted her hairstylist, Elie Camaro at Frederic Fekkai, $50,000, thanking him for 'his friendship, and perfect hair'

The heiress granted her hairstylist, Elie Camaro at Frederic Fekkai, $50,000, thanking him for 'his friendship, and perfect hair'

To Billy and George, '$50,000 each for beautiful hair and color,' Gray wrote in the document. 

Her generosity went as far as her stylist Elie Camaro at Frederic Fekkai on Fifth Avenue - and even the woman in the salon's coat check.  

'Forever grateful for his friendship, and perfect hair. $50,000 toward a fabulous car!' the generous Gray said of her stylist of more than four years.  

Another $50,000 was given to 'my favorite coat check woman at Fekkai'. 

'When I come in this morning it was a big surprise for me,' Coat Check Fabiola Correa, 68, told the Daily News. 'Everybody give me hugs. I said, oh Mrs. Kaaren, thank you!' 

An unnamed doorman was also gifted $50,000, while Gray's housekeeper was remembered with $10,000. 

Gray bestowed about $3million by the end of the will. This included gifts for the Heard Museum in Arizona, the Hoover Institution her dad once chaired and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Her father had also left money for the Heard Museum. 

Questions loom, however, over whether the recipients will receive the funds Gray left for them. The handwritten will was never notarized or signed by witnesses.

It could stand, however, if no previous signed and notarized wills are found and if no relatives challenge the document.  

The full extent of Gray's fortune was not immediately known.   

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