Peter Bruchas, friends recall, played a lyrical alto sax, an instrument he learned to love many years ago while a student at Vashon High School.

Little wonder, then, that Bruchas, an Islander who died last year at age 60, left much of his estate to his alma mater.

Last week, after his estate finally got settled, Vashon Island School District officials learned that Bruchas had left $320,000 to the district’s music programs, where the money is to support jazz music in particular.

Superintendent Terry Lindquist said it’s the largest private gift the district has ever received. And Steve Nielsen, the fiscal officer for the Puget Sound Education Service District, which oversees 35 districts in the region, said that it could very well be the biggest gift to any district in the region. The service district’s fiscal officer for the past 15 years, he said he could recall no other private gift as large.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the school district and an extraordinary gesture of confidence in public education and the schools on Vashon,” Nielsen said.

Bruchas graduated from Vashon High School in 1964, where he played in the school band and orchestra, Steve Self, a friend and professional sax player, said. The music department at the time, Self said, was “a going concern,” and Bruchas began to develop his excellent tone as a sax player there.

Bruchas went on to join the Navy and later the Peace Corps, delivering supplies to remote schools in Belize. Eventually, he became a mechanic on the Island, working for Engels Repair & Towing and other garages on Vashon. He never married nor had children, friends said.

But it was his love of music, Self and other friends said, that defined him on Vashon. With Lou Engles, he helped to start the Portage Fill, a big band orchestra that Bruchas played in for more than 30 years, Engles said. He also played in a popular jazz band in Seattle called Roadside Attraction.

Self, who played sax professionally for many years, said he learned to play his own instrument better by working closely with Bruchas.

“He taught me things that I later used as a professional,” Self said. “He had a really wonderful tone … and a natural lyrical sound. It was very pleasing and very musical.”

Lindquist said he plans to form a committee comprised of both staff and citizens to help the district figure out how best to use Bruchas’ gift. Because of the limits put on the gift, it won’t necessarily help the district support its still-ailing general fund, Lindquist said.

“But if we can develop a responsible plan, we can support music over time,” he said. “It’s a terrific, terrific gift.”

School board members were also ecstatic to learn of the size of the gift.

“We’re always scrambling for money, especially for those things that aren’t required by state law, such as much,” said Board Member Laura Wishik. “We’re just thrilled.”