Dying husband’s worries about wife suffering money troubles disappear after she scoops huge lottery jackpot
A Pennsylvania widower whose late husband was concerned about her money problems when he died has won a $1 million lottery jackpot.
Karen Coffman, 61, won the state lottery just two weeks before her husband Robert died in April from complications due to a brain tumor.
“When I told him about the award, he thought I was lying to him,” Karen, 61, said of her husband of 31 years.
The mother of three added that she believes there was a spiritual intervention that brought about her victory.
“I do think he had something in the works because he was worried. I hope he looks down on this,” an emotional Karen said Thursday at a ceremony where lottery officials presented her with a ceremonial check.
Karen Coffman, 61, won the state lottery just two weeks before her husband Robert died in April from complications from a brain tumor. She was seen with her family
The filming took place at the same BP gas station where she bought her winning ticket, which only cost her $20.
‘I’m not going out. I work and go home. They know me here (at the station),” Karen said.
The longtime resident of Freeport, near Pittsburgh, described himself as a consistent lottery player who prefers scratch-off tickets.
When she realized she had won a big prize, she initially stood in the shop in disbelief before a station worker confirmed her win.
“When I told him about the award, he thought I was lying to him,” Karen, 61, said of her husband of 31 years, Robert, pictured
Karen, who received a lump sum, worked in aged care before retiring last month
She then went home and was shaking by the time she told her husband.
‘My father was so worried about her. He was worried about money. I feel like he was literally pulling strings to make sure she was okay,” Karen’s daughter Ashley told Uptegraph TribLive.
“I think he just wanted to do something good before he died.”
Karen, who received a lump sum, worked in aged care before retiring last month.
She said she plans to use some of her winnings to treat family members to a luxury Disney trip and eventually plans to move to Florida, saying, “I don’t want winter anymore. I hate the cold.’
Just weeks before she won the jackpot, she had also won $500 on a scratcher, according to CBS News. Karen bought all the winning scratch cards at the same BP gas station
Karen also plans to resume playing the lottery when things calm down.
And it’s not the first time Karen has won the lottery; in 2010 she won $65,000 on a scratch-off ticket.
A few weeks before she won the jackpot, she said she also won $500 on a scratcher CBS News.
Karen bought all the winning scratch cards at the same BP gas station.