KINGSTON — Less than a week before Michael Szymanski died he made the decision to leave a portion of his estate to a charity.

Szymanski, 67, chose the Kingston Food Bank.

The food bank has received about $20,000 so far. It will receive between $70,000-$80,000 by the first of the year, according to Margaret Rennemo, a friend of Szymanski.

Food bank director Barb Fulton was out of town when she got the news the Kingston Food Bank was no longer in dire straits.

“We’re just going day by day,” Fulton said. “It’s still like a fairytale.”

The donated money from Szymanski came just in time for the food bank.

Fulton and food bank volunteers held rummage sales throughout the summer as they attempted to raise enough money to pay for rent for next year. The rummage sales raised about $5,500. The food bank rents the building on Illinois Avenue for $16,000 per year. The food bank’s lease was up in November.

“Every bit of the donation so far has gone towards paying our future lease,” Fulton said. Fulton plans to buy more shelving and a freezer eventually. The money from the rummage sales will be used for food. A final rummage sale was planned for the last weekend of September.

The food bank, founded by Fulton’s parents in 1952, meets the needs of approximately 50 families a week. The food bank also provides school supplies to local students in September, and has clothing for people in need.

Fulton said she did not know Syzmanski and was not aware of him ever using the food bank’s services.

Szymanski’s donation of part of his estate matches his character, according to people who knew him.

Szymanski grew up in Delaware. According to his obituary, he graduated from Salesianum High School and then the University of Delaware. He served in the Army in Korea for two years.

“Later in life he had an epiphany and became a yoga instructor,” Rennemo said. Szymanski began teaching yoga at a studio on Bainbridge and his home in Kingston.

Aletia Alvarez, co-founder of Madrona Mind and Body Institute in Port Townsend, danced with Szymanski for about six years during Soul Motion Conscious Dance Practice’s SoulFul Sundays. Szymanski would drive to Port Townsend to dance.

“He was very generous and reliable,” she said.

Syzmanski was popular as a yoga instructor; his students “loved” him, Alvarez said.

“[He] was warm and gentle and a philosophical kind of guy,” she said.

Alvarez said she and the other dancers were unaware Szymanski was terminal.

Szymanski had a brain tumor removed, but declined further treatment. He died July 27, about three days after donating to the food bank.