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3 months ago
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A Pennsylvania widower whose late husband worried about her suffering money troubles when he died has scooped a $1million lottery jackpot.
Karen Coffman, 61, won the state lottery just two weeks before her husband Robert died in April of complications from a brain tumor.
'When I told him about the prize, 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 win.
'I do think he had something in the works, because he was worried. I hope he’s looking 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 of complications from a brain tumor. She's seen with her family
It was staged at the same BP gas station where she bought her winning ticket, which cost her just $20.
'I don’t go out places. I work and go home. They know me here (at the station),' Karen said.
The longtime resident of Freeport, near Pittsburgh, described herself as a consistent lottery player who favors scratch-off tickets.
When she realized she had won a big prize, she initially stood inside the store in disbelief before a station employee verified her win.
'When I told him about the prize, he thought I was lying to him,' Karen, 61, said of her husband of 31 years Robert, pictured
Karen, who took a lump sum payout, worked in the senior care industry before retiring last month
She then went home and was shaking by the time she told her husband.
'My dad was so worried about her. He was worried about money. I feel he literally was pulling strings making sure she’s OK,' Karen's daughter Ashley Uptegraph told TribLive.
'I think he just wanted to do something good before he died.'
Karen, who took a lump sum payout, worked in the senior care industry before retiring last month.
She said she plans to use some of her winnings to treat relatives to a deluxe Disney trip and eventually plans to move to Florida, saying 'I don’t want winter no more. I hate the cold.'
Just weeks before winning the jackpot, she had also won $500 on a scratcher, according to CBS News . Karen purchased all the winning scratch-offs at the same BP gas station
Karen also plans to resume playing the lottery when things settle down.
And it's not the first time Karen has won the lottery - she won $65,000 on a scratch-off ticket in 2010.
Just weeks before winning the jackpot, she had also won $500 on a scratcher, according to CBS News.
Karen purchased all the winning scratch-offs at the same BP gas station.
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