Meet Geraldine Williams, a retired custodian and cleaning woman who will no longer have to mop her own floors or dust her own furniture.
Williams stepped forward Friday to claim the $294 million Mega Millions jackpot, the second-largest jackpot ever to go to a single person in North America.
Williams, who was introduced at a news conference at state lottery headquarters, said she'll take the payout in a lump sum of $117.6 million after taxes.
She said she was still stunned by her luck, a week after the numbers were drawn.
"I'm in disbelief," she said. "I can't believe it's me."
Williams, 68, recalled staring at a television as it showed the winning numbers, clutching her winning ticket and muttering, "Oh, God! Oh, God! Let it be! Let it be!"
Williams cleaned homes after retiring as a custodian at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. She said she fully intended to keep an appointment to clean a client's home this week until she was told she had to meet with financial advisers in Boston.
Williams said she told her three children about her good fortune as soon as she knew, but added hiding it from everyone else had been difficult. She kept the winning ticket at a bank before turning it in.
"It's horrible," she said. "I don't like lying, I don't like sneaking around."
Williams said she plans to give the money to her children and some charities, and to travel.
Williams, a grandmother of eight who moved to Lowell more than 40 years ago, said she plans to stay in the area.
A neighbor of Williams called her "a bundle of energy."
"She really will be able to enjoy this. I'm so happy for her. It's unbelievable, it's very surreal," said Paula Pea , 39.
Pea said Williams picks up trash in their neighborhood of two- and three-family homes. She added that Williams, "takes care of people that are elderly. If I know Gerry, she'll still want to go and take care of them."
The $294 million is the highest Mega Millions prize in the game's history, exceeding a $239 million jackpot in February. Williams' winning numbers were 10-25-38-39-50 with a Mega Ball 12.
The largest single ticket lottery jackpot winner ever in North America was Jack Whitaker of Scott Depot, W.Va., who won a Powerball jackpot of $314.9 million on Christmas Day 2002.
Other states participating in the Mega Millions game are Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
I seem to recall another Masschusetts jackpot, maybe Mass Millions around 1997, where another cleaning woman won one of the biggest jackpots to date. It must be a lucky profession.
$117.6 million is a lot of money, especially after 68 years of not making a whole lot. I wouldn't be hanging around Lowell, a congested depressing former mill town, much anymore if I won. The world is too big a place not to explore if you are in good health and cost is no object.
God wants us to prosper for over sixty plus years she toiled cleaning up after people .see thats why it is so important to treat the smallest person among you good because you never know when it's comming back to you I say to her God Bless you & congratulations .I too hope to win big some day.
Seriously though can someone who is like 28 or something win, IM sick of all these old people who are on deaths door winning. It just shows you that young people dont have money to blow on lottery , which is usually won by the indigent who have no other choices but to hope for the lottery to get rich. Its a shame.
quant that is not a very nice thing to say I know that everyone of us have a dream & for some the dream comes early and then again it's late but better late than never . old age is a blessing in more ways than one. I'm only 33yrs old & I thank God everyday that both my parents are still alive in good health & if either of them should win the lottery I'll consider that a win for me too.
None of us know the day or the hour of our death! Frankly speaking, most younger people (18, 19, and 20 year olds) would foolishly spend their money on frivilous things: not taking into accounttheir mortality.
For the most part, by the time a person reaches his or her 30s, 40s, and 50s, he or she will have a much different outlook on life. Cancer, AIDS, deadly blood clots, viral pneumonia, car accidents, drug overdoses, and other social maladies inflict and infect the above age groups, too.
Also, younger people are not guaranteed they will even reach 68 year old (look at the crimes in the communities -- compared to 60 or 70 years ago -- drugs, drive-by-shootings, gangs, dysfunctional families, and rampant sexual promiscuity: there are some men and some women who refuse tocommit to one person, only! Reference point: your own communities, families, and of course, Hollywood's rich and famous!
The 68 year old lady is not trying to impress anyone, and with her maturity and her stability, and of course, her strong work ethic, she is an excellent candidate for this fine success story.
Quote:Originally posted by qutgnt on July 10, 2004
Seriously though can someone who is like 28 or something win, IM sick of all these old people who are on deaths door winning. It just shows you that young people dont have money to blow on lottery , which is usually won by the indigent who have no other choices but to hope for the lottery to get rich. Its a shame.
You mean someone like Mr. Michael Carroll, 21, of Downham Market, Norfolk, who can binge and booze and party until the money is all gone?
I think 40 is the right age to win. You've suffered and struggled and know enough not to go crazy, but are still young enough to enjoy what a jackpot can bring. Since I'm 40, is that a bit self-serving?
WOW-now thats
I seem to recall another Masschusetts jackpot, maybe Mass Millions around 1997, where another cleaning woman won one of the biggest jackpots to date. It must be a lucky profession.
TG:
Maybe you meant the Big Game in April 1999.
Thanks, I guess that was the one.
$117.6 million is a lot of money, especially after 68 years of not making a whole lot. I wouldn't be hanging around Lowell, a congested depressing former mill town, much anymore if I won. The world is too big a place not to explore if you are in good health and cost is no object.
I love it when a good-hea
God wants us to prosper for over sixty plus years she toiled cleaning up after people .see thats why it is so important to treat the smallest person among you good because you never know when it's comming back to you I say to her God Bless you & congratulations .I too hope to win big some day.
Seriously though can someone who is like 28 or something win, IM sick of all these old people who are on deaths door winning. It just shows you that young people dont have money to blow on lottery , which is usually won by the indigent who have no other choices but to hope for the lottery to get rich. Its a shame.
quant that is not a very nice thing to say I know that everyone of us have a dream & for some the dream comes early and then again it's late but better late than never . old age is a blessing in more ways than one. I'm only 33yrs old & I thank God everyday that both my parents are still alive in good health & if either of them should win the lottery I'll consider that a win for me too.
None of us know the day or the hour of our death! Frankly speaking, most younger people (18, 19, and 20 year olds) would foolishly spend their money on frivilous things: not taking into account their mortality.
For the most part, by the time a person reaches his or her 30s, 40s, and 50s, he or she will have a much different outlook on life. Cancer, AIDS, deadly blood clots, viral pneumonia, car accidents, drug overdoses, and other social maladies inflict and infect the above age groups, too.
Also, younger people are not guaranteed they will even reach 68 year old (look at the crimes in the communities -- compared to 60 or 70 years ago -- drugs, drive-by-shootings, gangs, dysfunctional families, and rampant sexual promiscuity: there are some men and some women who refuse to commit to one person, only! Reference point: your own communities, families, and of course, Hollywood's rich and famous!
The 68 year old lady is not trying to impress anyone, and with her maturity and her stability, and of course, her strong work ethic, she is an excellent candidate for this fine success story.
dphillips (Blue)
While I was hoping that a office lottery pool had won the money, it was just as great to hear that she won the jackpot. Good for her!!!!
You mean someone like Mr. Michael Carroll, 21, of Downham Market, Norfolk, who can binge and booze and party until the money is all gone?
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/90884.htm
I think 40 is the right age to win. You've suffered and struggled and know enough not to go crazy, but are still young enough to enjoy what a jackpot can bring. Since I'm 40, is that a bit self-serving?
You've suffered and struggled and know enough not to go crazy,
And then there was Jack Whitaker