Ten million dollar gift from the grave

News on 4 Jan 2009

The weekend reportage of WFSB TV in the United States featured a tragic but at the same time uplifting story of a $10 million lottery gift from the grave.
Back in November a Danbury, Connecticut 59-year-old man bought his wife, Charlotte Peters, a lottery ticket. It was one of the last things he did in this life, expiring the same day after a heart attack.
The ticket won $10 million for his widow, providing for her security, but reminding her of his sense of humour – he had often joked that he would be incensed if, having bought a winning ticket, he died and left a large sum of cash on the table without enjoying any of it.
Charlotte and her husband were lottery fans:  “[For] at least 20 years we’d buy in 10 weeks at a stretch,” she recalled this week. “He’d pick his numbers and I’d pick mine. I just like odd numbers, so I’d pick odd numbers.”
With her husband’s death, she said, the tickets were no longer a priority. In fact, she said she’d almost tossed the winning ticket in the trash.
“I was in the grocery store and I had it checked and they told me I was a winner,” Charlotte said. “I had no idea how much it was.”
She said more surprises came when she claimed her winnings last Friday. Originally thinking she’d won $6 million, she was surprised to learn when she showed up to claim her prize that she’d won $10 million.
And what does Charlotte plan to do with her winnings?
“I’ve always wanted a Corvette, but I don’t think I’ll buy one,” Charlotte said. “I’ll stick to a small car. I might go to the Mohegan Sun. I’m going to go home and sit and think.”

Related and similar