Ontario's biggest-ever lottery winner died a heartbroken and miserly recluse, estranged from family and too sick — or too tightfisted — to spend his millions.
Friends of 59-year-old Graham Gelineau, who won $37 million in 2007 from a Canada Lotto 6/49 ticket, told the Sun the "eccentric" and mysterious Graham disappeared after collecting his jackpot, not returning to the cheap room he rented in a boarding house on St. Clair Ave. W.
Friends aren't sure of the exact date of his death but have heard it was a week ago.
"He made his escape plan, and nobody ever saw him again," Tom Bailey, 57, says.
"He knew that (people) would be crawling all over that rooming house looking for him after he won."
Even in death, Gelineau remains an elusive mystery.
There will be no viewing for friends and family, and no funeral, says Ken Burnley of Trull Funeral Home and Cremation Centre on Yonge St., just south of Glencairn Ave., which is handling Gelineau's arrangements.
There won't even be a death notice, he says.
Burnley won't say who is handling Gelineau's estate, or the exact date he died, citing privacy legislation.
And he says he knows nothing of Gelineau's windfall.
When Gelineau won his millions he said little would change in his life although looking for an apartment — where he could live alone — was a priority.
He planned to help out family and friends, and give some cash to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was being treated for an undisclosed illness.
"My life's going to stay pretty much the same," Gelineau said.
"That's what I think, but who knows what the future brings?"
Before winning the jackpot, Gelineau held down a low-paying job as a clerk at an off-track betting parlour in the Bathrust and Bloor Sts. area.
He revealed little of himself or his past to anyone, and according to one source, kept the money he earned as a clerk tucked away in books in his rented room.
He was also a chess fanatic, and an avid reader of science fiction.
But he also struggled with his weight — at one point hovering around the 300 pound mark — and was ill much of the time as a result, Bailey says.
After scoring his windfall, Gelineau quit his clerk's job, and apparently rented a small apartment at the foot of Spadina.
No one the Sun interviewed knew what Gelineau did with his millions, but there were rumours he donated some of it to hospitals.
Gelineau was a guarded, private man who never talked of his parents or any siblings, and never dated, Bailey says.
But at one point he did have a family of sorts — a woman he lived with and loved.
"At one time, he had a girlfriend," Bailey says, "but he came home one day and she had disappeared — walked out — and he never got over it. He clearly stated he would never be interested in a relationship again after she disappeared."
Gelineau, who Bailey says always earned a "modest" income, was tight with money but still likable.
"if he sat down, people would want to buy him drinks... you were just glad to have him around." A former landlord remembers Gelineau as an intensely private man who may have had "terminal cancer" the year before winning the big prize.
Gelineau rarely left his room during that time, other than for work.
"He was seriously ill, I think," says Tom, owner of a two-storey house on Follis Ave in the Bloor and Christie Sts. area where Gelineau rented a room from 1997 to early 2007.
"He kept to himself. He didn't really want anyone to really know him."
The only sign of possible family, says Tom, who declined to give his last name, were two women who showed up on Christmas Day a few years before Gelineau won the jackpot.
Gelineau lost his temper and screamed at them to "just leave".
Even though he lived close to the poverty line, Gelineau squirrelled away his money, Tom says. He once found a wad of thousands of dollars that Gelineau had accidentally thrown in the trash. He returned the money to a grateful Gelineau.
A woman, who worked on-and-off with Gelineau for 15 years at Albert's Parlour, an off-track betting lounge on the second floor of the Brunswick House bar, calls him a "generous spirit" who loved to read and play chess, but never spent money or talked about his personal life.
"He was an eccentric guy," says the woman who didn't want to be identified. "He was just Graham."
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Thanks to Sherry for the tip.
I would choose to enjoy the money if I would win a large amount.
Living a more comfortable life and helping other would be most enjoyable !
What a bummer, such a sad story.
Very sad indeed.
Can Money Buy Happiness?
It can if the Money Winner doesn't Limit their own Potential to be Happy with the Choices They Make!
R. I. P. Graham!
Unfortunately when you become millionaire overnight you have to hide from people specially your family.
personally am curious as to his last days,beliefs/figgurings/lessons learned and how many true friends he had if any
bad enough he died alone
Money can buy a lot of things and solve many of life's problems.
But it just goes to show: if you don't have your health, not a lot of good those millions will do.
Stay healthy.
so so sad .. but the idea i'm getting is that 1) he was already sickly and 2) he previously had issues with family .. so, who knows where the money is or who he left in charge but i respect recluses and their privacy and assume this was all part of his plan .. he certainly could have enjoyed the millions if he wanted to and who is to say he didn't .. well, his estate knows everything
Seems he lived life and faced death under his own terms. RIP.
what a face indeed, they will do anything for that face and to that face....Is called: CLASS...And in canada and with that French name or so it looks...guys dont mind me...is also written on his face but i think this time it was environment...
talking about a future: BILLIONAIRE...
He died a hermit, i could had told you that: 50 years ago...he must had had a good heart...
Here is a quote from the movie: Gladiator...
Death smiles at us ALL [whao!], all a man can do is, smile back...
you never know live life to the fullest...
you know one of the many reasons why i say that??? Just to THINK how many THOUSANDS of times this planet in the past would had been eliminated, just to think that we came from a bacteria and from a monkey just to think that we are a ball hovering in space in MID AIR with no chords, just to look at the Sun in close shots, just to look at what occurs in other parts of the universe or other planets, just to think that there is life here but NO WHERE ELSE, just to see how man happily celebrate every day as if he was in heaven, ect, ect, ect, ect AND ECT is like standing at the very edge of a never ending PRECIPICE.....Makes me conclude that: DEATH SMILES AT US ALL...
So i dont know whats the: CELEBRATION....
AGAIN EVERYBODY LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST...
my favorite poem in the ENTIRE WORLD is Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryan....
you dont have no possession in this world, all you got is: EACH OTHER...
they should drop the name: HUmankind and replaced it by: BY-A-WHISKER...
the pic alone tells the story of why hes dead now.....
like how he never talked much thro, i like people who mind their own.
if the rumor was true, and he had cancer before the win, Now it all becomes clear, i like to talk about health , we Must be healthy, its life or death in later years of your life.
overweight, and or obese,really its the lack of physical exerise"best proven way to die faster" , is the number #1 way to shorten your life,
did you know pro Athletes who retired form sport/exerise have the same death ratio's as normal pop
you can win the lottery, and soon be dead due to poor healh, i work out about a hour a day mini
Obesity is the leading preventable cause of death worldwide ,due to effects on heart health, and then cancer deaths linked to fat people stats who get il
only smoking is really the only worst way to send your self down the road of il health "kills your lung cells its a fact people."
poor eating"junk 24/7" where the fruit? kinda thinking. , lack of exerise will just about send anyone down the road to a early death
remb we have trillions of cells in our body, if its not kept in top shape, aka your fat etc, something will Give and it Will be your weakest links first, some its heart health related , others it cancer, etc
did you know sense where born cancer cells start appearing! , yes its true, people Don't just "get" cancer, they made it a nice place for it to stay alive and grow
, the heathy body Deals with these rogue cells in no time,
Stay healthy! are body's are designed to kick ass inside our selfs if rogue units start up, if you abuse it you lose it,
but once you made your body a nice place for cancer to Grow, Its game Over, you lost, bye bye,
o and whats the majority of humankind way of fighting cancer to date., to make your whole body even weaker by drugs "Chemotherapy" ya it kills cancer cells, that also attack Healthy cell "idiots all of them in health field, let me know when they come up with a cure , morons."
their is a cure, where born with it, the body can take care of it self just Fine , it can't override your piss poor choice's of life style thro, food,lack of exerise etc
this winner had all markings having 1 hell of a weak link. odd age and was fat what's the point in winning millions on the lottery if you Can't enjoy your life for a long time
you could say at the end of the day, its really none thing but Humanity Stupidy that is their Number 1 cease of All human death,
the body is a god like entity of staying health, but each persons own stupidy brings them Down.
this is my last post here on this Thread:
Death smiles at us ALL [whao!], all a man can do is, smile back...
SMILE BACK AND PRAY....
THATS TRUE JOSHUACLOCK....THE BEST DRUG FOR CANCER WE ALREADY ARE BORN WITH IT...
Yes, it was probably a wonderful experience!
Who says he was heartbroken? If he closeted himself away, no one knew what he was doing. He may have met someone and been having the time of his life. Or he may have been on his own and having the time of his life. Just because he cut off contact with the people he knew before the win doesn't mean he was heartbroken or miserly. It just means he lived a private life. Isn't that what we post about here all the time? Perhaps those that were in his life post-win are continuing to respect his right to privacy.
R.I.P.
We just recently read of a happy lottery winner this month, and now this! This story is sad, tragic because as far as we know, the person had a will to live: not everyone will obtain the chance to win the lottery. Now, some people will read the story and think...see there, I told you so...money doesn't buy happiness. To that reply: "if you weren't happy before winning and you had major psychological or mental issues; then, all the money in the world will not bring peace of mind."
You see, it's not the love of money that's evil; it's the lack of it. All things considered, a person must have his or her mental, physical, financial, and spiritual house in order before winning, or be willing to seek help in any one or all of the above-mentioned deficiencies.
Finally, may the person rest in peace and eternal joy in the hereafter -- since the person didn't find it on earth! Peace Out.
I think Merle Haggard said it right:
I don't let no woman tie me down
And I'll never get too old to get around
I wanna die along the highway and rot away
Like some old high-line pole
With this restless Ramblin' Fever in my soul.
This man however had his own way and unless we walked in his shoes we would scant know the road or why he took it.
And I'm sure if asked he would say: "Ain't nobody's business but my own".
And it ain't.
But I betcha he's happier now than he's ever been.
Happy trails Graham.
Sometimes people just want to be left alone.
I can relate to that person, too. Even the great Greta Garbo almost said the same words.
Each person's family dynamics is different, also. Not every family was like the Brady Bunch, Father Knows Best, or The Lucy Show. Wow, times have changed, but it is -- what it is!
Personally, I can't comment on his family dynamics, but families out there in America had better get it together because the next generation (now) is suffering from the fragmented, psychological, and dysfunctional agony spewed by these so-called mothers, fathers, or guardians. Repeat: don't have kids if you don't want to psychologically, financially, spiritually, and physical nourish them because money isn't always the answer.
Finally, since I can only speak of Amercia (I don't live in another country), I'm ashamed to be called a citizen of this country because any of you who were around, save, 40, 50, or 60 years ago can attest that we didn't have this much family fragmentation. Oh, yeah, there were problems, but you dared not show any emotion or let anyone in the community know -- it was considered a disgrace and family betrayal. Now, anything goes; watch your talk shows.
"I'm ashamed to be called a citizen of this country..."
Don't be ashamed of the whole country, dphillips. There are still a lot of good people out there with wholesome values and morals.
It's just a certain segment of society that has been fostering an agenda to diminish our morals and values in this country.
Unfortunately the segment that wants to debase and devalue our honored traditions controls the news media, the education system and 2/3rds of our government.
But good, decent Americans are in the process of turning things around despite them.
Remember that the only requirement for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.
The next-best thing (for the losers) is to be friends with a famous or wealthy person, then they can yak-blab the person's business to the tabloids or in a book.
dphillips, Don't be ashamed of this country because a portion does not value family or understand what "family" truely is. There are people out there who have suffered the 'it takes a village' attitude, those who have suffered because the rules of welfare benefitting single parent families, those who have suffered from media exploitation of the abnormal, and those who have suffered dumbing down in order to make those with 'less' feel better - exceptualism being frowned upon. Despite all of this, there are many who still have 'family' as their core.. of all generations. They value two parent families, respect of others, respect of self, and working hard to become successful. That foundation core is still here, and probably the silent majority that stays silent until crisis. And watch out, because we are in crisis.
The sad story of this gentleman is just that, sad. Some people prefer solitude. Even though I have a great and close family, I value my solitude. You don't have to live next door to your family to be close. This man sounds as if his family was not close, and that family closeness was not what he sought. All in all, it sounds like he was well liked at work and at his home. It was his choice to cut people out of his life. Possibly physical illness was not his only illness and that he suffered from mild paranoia. He could have moved from the boarding house and still maintained the friends he valued. True friends would not have asked anything of him.
$37 million? That's a big big money if I were him I will immedieately hire a security for my safety! So where did his money go?
Sad sad story why should your life stay the same if you are a millionaire ? i will enjoy myself to the bone. Tight fisted people are very unhappy people so that says it all..
That too bad about this gent
,Rdgrnnr what the hell are you talking about "But good decent American are in the process of turning things around despite them" . For my sake and many like me I hope not .Your love of country and people are obvious not as mine.
Good luck on that one.
This is a sad story that he died.
Boy if I every win millions. I will take care of my immediate family and I would VOW to help others get a good jump start.
I always hope that people who will the lottery are not selfish and really turn there fortune over by helping people.
Of course not be stupid and squander, but i will not give to foundations and charites like most people do. I would help individual people really have a better life.
guys i dont know what´s going on but a far away ant who had moved to Venezuela when i was a kid had a heart attack last night, i received the news today.....
Louise, a lot of children are growing up without any morals or values anymore and I'm surprised you haven't noticed it. They live by the general principle of "If it feels good, do it." And it's part and parcel of an agenda.
Put that along with a government (both sides!) that has put us under 14 trillion dollars of debt and won't stop borrowing and spending like drunken sailors and we've got big problems.
This is the greatest country in the world but it is not indestructible. If we don't stop this madness soon we could see the demise of this great republic in short order.
Some people have come to believe that the government should do things it wasn't designed to do and indeed has no right to do. It wasn't designed to be all things to all people. It has specific duties and specific obligations given and/or allowed by the Constitution. Beyond that it has no authority. Some people just don't understand that. Some people like to twist the Constitution to give the federal government rights to stick it's nose where it doesn't belong.
That's all I'm saying. I want my grandkids to grow up in the greatest country in the world just like we did. And we have a crowd in power now that thinks that America is the bad guy in the world and we need to be knocked down a few notches. That we should be on the same level with every other country in the world. Well, I don't believe that. I think we are exceptional and should remain so. We are not the bad guys. We are a force for good and always have been.
And that's the way it should be.
I'm very sorry to hear about your aunt, Pumpi.
You are a breath of fresh air; your kind words are food for thought, huh? I feel sorry for the next generation who will have to undue all of the obstacles and hurdles besought upon them by some members of the ruling class, e.g., media, education, and others. Here, we're talking about the next 25 years or 50 years before the next generation rebounds. It's up to them to continue the honored traditions of the past -- if they so desire.
Finally, some of us will be dead, and we'll not be around to see the wonderful changes or challenges, but then, again, do we really want to witness them? We'll be resting in peace, a long, deserved break.
Money doesn't buy happiness, if you aren't happy before you have money you won't be happy after you have money.
Actually, the way to solve THAT dilemma is to bring the rest of your family up with you--everyone in my Significant Other's family and my family are accounted for and know precisely what their share will be should I win a large jackpot. If we win a large enough jackpot--I even have plans for a Cousin Trust with provisions in it for his and my cousins. Just who else besides family do you have to socialize with? Do you really think the successful millionaires who have worked long and hard for their money welcome lottery winners with open arms into their enclaves and country clubs? And many winners recount the grief at losing their old friends who just can't get past the "You Can't Possibly Understand The Struggle Anymore" attitude that old friends have towards many lottery winners. So--what works FOR ME, and only me--I say bring em along and let em share. At least you'll still get invited to family reunions.
BTW--I only say to share with family and not with church cause my minister is so anti gambling that he stated publicly that if anyone in his congregation won the lottery (back when one of the jackpots were stratospheric), he would refuse the part of their donations that were derived from the lottery--crazy, no?
Y do you try to hit the lotto to be so sad
Maybe being sad and rich is a little better than being sad and poor.
I know a string of crabby wimmins that were very happy to get houses (mine).
I guess they just didn't enjoy wedded bliss. A couple of em said they wadn't gonna play second fiddle fer a honky tonkin man. Talk about unreasonable.
They all et good though. One of em got so big, when she walked her rear end looked like two hogs in a sack fightin over milk duds. She didn't wanna hear about it.
Wimmins just don't understand me sometimes.