One of Britain's youngest lottery winners, dead at 29

Comment #17

grave — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:11:45 GMT

R.I.P

Comment #16

HaveABall — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:57:33 GMT

RIP Stuart. I think that it is wonderful that you got to enjoy the almost $3M tax free for 13 years -- kudos to you! If there isn't a high death tax, I hope that your heir will get at least as many years pleasure out of the $$$.

Comment #15

rdgrnr — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:32:00 GMT

However old it was, if nobody on this side of the pond had heard about it, it was news to us.

Comment #14

buttercake — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:23:50 GMT

Would like to point out this story is old as he died in Jan of this year. RIP young chap

Comment #13

rdgrnr — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 09:06:47 GMT

Yeah, that's a recurring nightmare for me. I'm sitting in the middle lane and I have a babbler on each side of me and I can't get my windows up

Comment #12

CAL-LottoPlayer — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 08:21:41 GMT

Thanks TheGameGrl. However, it's actually 5 months.

There was never any followup story by the BBC, Stuart Donnelly died in Scotland, or anyone else about what Donnelly died from. I assume it was natural causes but they never said what type.

Comment #11

Nino224 — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:59:44 GMT

Red, you know what I REALLY hate?? When I'm in that stop and go traffic and the tool in the next lane starts that small talk b.s.!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

But seriously, folks. This is one of those worst case scenarios. 3 mill isn't even that much money. What this poor kid needed was an adult in his life who could offer some guidance and put him on the right track. It didn't need to end like this. Tragic.

Comment #10

Hermanus104 — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:58:23 GMT

Requiescat in pace.

I was reading about how he toasted with Coca-Cola because he was too young for champagne - I would have used sparkling cider. A family tradition of ours is to drink sparkling cider at the start of the New Year. Ginger ale would have been a good choice too.

Again, requiescat in pace (Latin for: may he rest in peace).

Comment #9

TheGameGrl — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 01:24:58 GMT

Thank you Cal for bringing the accuracy of his departure to corrective date/time.

Makes me wonder how many folks would wish a person a safe trip that they took three months ago! Sorta a wee bit late...

Comment #8

ThatScaryChick — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:37:01 GMT

Agreed. My heart goes out to his family.

Comment #7

rdgrnr — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:16:41 GMT

I can identify to a certain extent with Stuart's reclusion. Some people just don't like crowds of people and adding a spotlight on yourself only exacerbates that disdain.

I was reminded of my own disdain for it while sitting in stop and go (mostly stop) traffic on Miami Freeways last week. It made me appreciate my life more in a sparsely populated area away from people and prying eyes. Crowds of people and noise and polite trivialities like forced conversation suck the energy out of me and I... [ More ]

Comment #6

beaudad — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:05:25 GMT

very sad.......may he rest in peace.......

Comment #5

konane — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:43:54 GMT

Never too late to offer condolences to his family. Very sad story.

Comment #4

CAL-LottoPlayer — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:29:30 GMT

Just noticed: Stuart Donnelly's death happened on 7 January 2010. This is an old story, a very old story. You can find the older story on the BBC's UK site. I did a search there and found nothing newer.

Comment #3

CAL-LottoPlayer — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:01:08 GMT

What a waste. Stuart wins 2 million (US$2.98 million) when he's 17 and becomes a shut-in! He should've learned French, Spanish, and possibly German, and traveled Europe with a female companion for a few years. Think of all the experiences he missed out on. While he would've burned through his winnings at a faster rate, at least he would've enjoyed himself. I wonder what he did during all these last 12 years. Did he do anything worthwhile, such as get a degree, learn a new language, get a hobby s... [ More ]

Comment #2

sully16 — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:52:03 GMT

How sad, my condolences to his family.

Comment #1

jarasan — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:13:58 GMT

Sad, may he rest in peace.

One of Britain's youngest lottery winners, dead at 29

Lottery Post — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:54:21 GMT

One of Britain's youngest lottery millionaires has been found dead at 29.

Stuart Donnelly was discovered at the luxury home he bought after winning almost 2 million (US$2.98 million) when he was 17.

When he hit the jackpot in 1997, sharing the 25 million prize fund with 12 other winners, he toasted with Coca-Cola because he was too young for champagne.

But his instant riches made him unhappy and he appeared increasingly unable to handle the strain of being a millionaire, friends said.... [ More ]