A native of rural King and Queen County, Virginia, T. Franklin Fary accumulated a multi-million dollar estate through astute real estate transactions and cautious investments in the stock and bond markets. He lived a frugal lifestyle without most of the material possessions usually associated with person of his means and, thus, his successes and his wealth remained largely unknown until his death in 1995 at the age of 92. Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch article by Lawrence Latane.

Although a bachelor, his interest in young people remained strong throughout his life. At his death, he left a large portion of his $3.4 million estate to the Fary Memorial Scholarship Fund, a trust established in the memory of his parents, Thomas Peterson and Alvin Jenettie Roane Fary, to fund college scholarships. In addition to the annual awards of prestigious $6,000 per year scholarships, the Fund provides smaller grants for students attending 4-year colleges.