Donald Peters, age 79 was married to his wife Charlotte for fifty nine years. During that time the couple had a twenty year tradition of buying lottery tickets, yet the couple had never won. On November 1st of last year Donald bought a lottery ticket. On the same day Donald suffered a heart attack and died.

Charlotte was grief stricken. One day after her husband’s death she was going through his things when she found the lottery tickets he had won. Charlotte almost threw the tickets away she was so upset but then decided against it.

Charlotte checked the numbers on the ticket and was shocked to see that they were a winner. She believed the winnings were for $6 million but then discovered it was for $10 million. Charlotte was quoted in an interview she gave the Associated Press where she said that she was numb.

She commented that she always wanted a Corvette but would not be buying one. The couple’s son Brian commented that his dad would have loved the irony of winning the lottery but not living to spend the earnings. Brian commented: “He’d be very mad, he just passed away and she won a lot of money. He’d say, ‘Figures!’”

Although Mr. Peters will not be around to enjoy his lottery winnings he was able to provide for his wife of so many years and his three children, and I’m sure he is very proud of that.




- 2009-01-05