We often hear of stories about how sudden wealth tears a family apart. Sometimes seemingly loving people can become jealous and greedy when large sums of money enter the picture.
This story is quite different.
Barrie Edwards bought a couple of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets, and due to a promotion that was going on at the time, he got a free Powerball ticket as a bonus. That extra “freebie” ticket won him the $86.3 million jackpot.
A long time ago, the Edwards and the Funk families agreed that if any of them ever won a big jackpot, they would split the winnings among themselves. Barrie Edwards is keeping to that agreement.
He was watching the Powerball drawing on television when he learned he held the winning ticket. His wife, Jean, had already gone to bed but he ran and woke her up to tell her the good news. They then called his brother and sister-in-law to tell them about the win.
“At first they didn’t believe us,” said Jean. “Then they sort of went into shock.”
Here is how the money (taken in a lump sum, with taxes deducted) will be distributed:
Barrie and Jean Edwards: $17,064,882
Terry and Linda Edwards: $17,064,882
Robert and Elaine Funk: $1.4 million
Jeffrey and Donna Funk: $1.4 million
Melanie Funk: $1.4 million
Gerald and Lynn Hess: $1.4 million
K. Scott Edwards: $1.4 million
Ronald and Yvonne Edwards: $1.4 million
Oh, there was one other winner – the Turkey Hill convenience store where the ticket was printed also received a $100,000 prize.