Oklahoma army veteran leaves $2.25 million estate to Habitat for Humanity, 24 homes to be built

An Army veteran who served his country also contributed in a spectacular way to his adopted home state of Oklahoma. (FOX 25 News)

An Army veteran who served his country in Vietnam and Saudi Arabia also contributed in a spectacular way to his adopted home state of Oklahoma.

Sergeant 1st Class Stephen Florentz, who had retired from the U.S. Army and did in December, left $2.25 million from his estate to the Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity, FOX 25 News reported. The gift from Florentz means that about two dozen will be built.

The Habitat for Humanity neighborhood Legacy Estates is now named after Stephen Florentz after he donated his $2.25 million estate to the organization. (FOX 25)

"It's a life-changing experience for our families," Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity CEO Ann Felton-Gilliland said. "Because most of them are living in apartment houses that are in unsafe areas, where their children aren't able to ride their bicycles or even play in the front yard."

Homeownership was a dear subject to Florentz, a Purple Heart recipient who grew up in tenements in New York. His friends say he wanted others to experience the joy he did when he bought his first home, in Oklahoma City.

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