Idaho carpenter Dale Schroeder was a blue-collar, lunch pail kind of a guy. He went to work every day, worked really hard, and was frugal like a lot of Iowans. Back in 2005 he told his lawyer, "I never got the opportunity to go to college and so I'd like to help kids go to college."

When the working-class tradesman went to the lawyer to set up the scholarships the lawyer's jaw dropped when Schroeder disclosed the amount he had saved. As a frugal man without a family of his own, he put together a $3 million scholarship fund that has made it possible for 33 people to attend college.

Kira Conrad, the last of the 33 to have their college tuition paid in full by Schroder's fund said, "I grew up in a single-parent household and I had three older sisters so paying for all four of us was never an option. For a man that would never meet me, to give me basically a full ride to college, that's incredible. That doesn't happen."

The 33 Iowans Schroeder put through college recently gathered around his old lunch box. They dubbed themselves "Dale's kids." It was a group of doctors, teachers, and therapists with no college debt. With Schroeder gone, there's no paying it back. His only wish was they pay it forward by emulating his generosity.