GREAT FALLS -- Genesio Morlacci led a simple existence of hard work and thrift, patching his clothes and finding entertainment in free concerts at the park, but never feeling deprived as he mostly skipped the extras in American life.

When Morlacci left $2.3 million to a small college here, many people were astonished at the wealth accumulated by a man who operated a dry-cleaning shop and then worked as a part-time janitor in retirement. But to those who knew Morlacci well, his bequest to the University of Great Falls came as no surprise.

''He was a fellow who felt that if you didn't need it, you shouldn't buy it," said Joe Marra, his former attorney. He also said ''Gene" wanted to help others obtain the formal education he never had. He called a diploma ''the paper."

The University of Great Falls announced this week that Morlacci, 102 when he died Oct. 31, left the $2.3 million as an endowment for scholarships. Schooled only to about the third-grade level, the childless widower gave the college nearly all he saved through work, investments and old-fashioned thrift that included removing worn collars from his shirts then sewing them back on, frayed side down.

''He worked very hard for this, 18- and 20-hour days, and during each of those working hours he was doing something good for a student he will never meet," said Eugene McAllister, president of the Roman Catholic university.

Long days were the rule when Morlacci, an Italian immigrant, established Sun Cleaners in the late 1940s and operated it until the early '60s. He lived next door in a small house with the basement rented out for additional income.

In retirement he briefly held a part-time janitorial job at the University of Great Falls, but left when the school decided it needed full-time help, said Bill Foy, a friend for more than 50 years.

Morlacci believed the government and too many people spent beyond their means, said Marra, who is of Italian descent and conversed with him in Italian.

''He was quite critical of the young people who needed, in his eyes, instant gratification," Marra said.

In outfitting Sun Cleaners, Morlacci bought top-of-the-line equipment, figuring it was a bargain because it would outlast cheaper models, said proprietors Garth Bennett and Denise Bennett Maki, siblings whose late father bought the business in 1962. They still run clothes through a battleship-gray Washex dry cleaner that Morlacci bought, and move them on a conveyor he installed.

McAllister, whose university had a $5.8 million endowment before the bequest, said he knew the school was in Morlacci's will but did not know the dollar amount. Officials expect the money to generate roughly $100,000 a year for scholarships at the college, a quiet campus with about 800 students, modest brick buildings and broad lawns just off a busy commercial strip.

On the rare occasions when a story like Morlacci's pops up, people find it inspiring, said Michael Solomon of The Chronicle of Philanthropy. At the University of Southern Mississippi, offers of matching funds came in after elderly laundress Oseola McCarty announced in 1995 that she was giving $150,000 for scholarships.

Attorney Warren Wenz, who handled Morlacci's affairs after Marra retired, said he asked his client in 1995 if he wished to meet with University of Great Falls officials. Morlacci declined. He avoided anything that could be construed as putting on a show, Wenz said.

That's why Morlacci and fiancee Lucille traveled 40 miles to Fort Benton for their wedding before a justice of the peace in 1951, said Foy, who witnessed the ceremony. Morlacci figured that if he stayed in Great Falls, someone might decorate his car or subject him to other undue attention, Foy said.

He remembers Morlacci as a man who enjoyed asking friends how many ''miles" of spaghetti they wanted as dinner guests at his home. He loved tending roses and tomatoes in the yard of the simple house he bought after he sold the cleaners and vacated the dwelling next door.

On the rare occasions the Morlaccis dined out, they chose budget restaurants, Foy said. Their one luxury was a couple of trips to Italy, he said.

Foy remembers Morlacci donating money to various causes, including the campaign to restore New York Harbor's Ellis Island immigration depot, through which 19-year-old ''Genesio Morl Acci" passed in 1921. His father operated a bar in a small town southeast of Great Falls, and Morlacci later went to California, where he learned dry cleaning.

As his wealth grew -- investment adviser Tom Horton of Piper Jaffray remembers a fondness for tax-free municipal bonds -- Morlacci made loans to people in Great Falls, for homes and college.

In his six-page will he left $5,000 to Our Lady of Lourdes School, and $500 to Our Lady of Lourdes Church. He was Catholic, but not devout, said Marra, describing him as ''a typical Italian male Catholic. The women go to church for them."

As a widower Morlacci lived in a retirement home that charged about $500 a month for meals, a room and housekeeping, choosing that over an upscale senior complex. Later, suffering Alzheimer's disease, he moved to the nursing home where he died.

Morlacci's obituary, an efficient 165 words, noted the 46-year duration of his marriage, his love of gardening and ''a passion for education."