BEACHWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A lottery-playing tradition started
by the matriarch of a large New Jersey shore family paid off for her 17
children this week when the group won a $20 million jackpot that will
partly be used to help family members recover from 2012’s Superstorm
Sandy.
"I said to myself, ‘This couldn’t have come at a more
perfect time,’" Faith Schiabor said, describing a call she received from
her sister Sigrid Endreson, who held the winning ticket for the Pick 6
prize. "With Sandy, with the economy today, everybody’s really hurting.
"This is definitely going to help everyone; it’s going to help Ocean County because most of us live
here," she said.
At
a news conference at a community center Thursday, jokes and jocularity
mixed with some tears as the siblings described their struggle to
recover from the widespread damage brought by Sandy to the Toms River
area.
John Endreson, 69, became emotional when he described rebuilding his home after Sandy ripped through.
"The
hardest part was seeing other people that were devastated," he said. "I
was able to redo my house and help my family and my brothers. I was
quite fortunate. I just feel so lucky. And this is just the icing on the
cake."
Endreson added some levity when he poked fun at one of his
brothers who had just given reporters a lesson in pronouncing his last
name.
"I don’t care how you pronounce it, how you spell it, as
long as I can cash the check," Endreson said. (The name is pronounced
EHN’-dress-uhn.)
Sigrid Endreson said she bought the tickets and
forgot about them for about two weeks before going down to a supermarket
to check the numbers. When one came back with the message "See
cashier," she ran it through again before taking it up to the window and
getting the good news.
"I started to cry," she said. "I called my
sister to come get me. I didn’t think I was going to make it. I said,
‘I think I won the lottery.’"
The siblings’ father emigrated from
Norway to New Jersey, where he met their mother, whose family owned a
farm in East Brunswick. It was their mother, Flossie, who had played the
lottery for years, a tradition continued by her children, who began
pooling their money after her death about 10 years ago.
"We buy
our own lottery tickets with our new families, the new generation, so to
speak," said daughter Marie McHenry. "So we’re not thinking of this
family lottery except a few times a year when we pop in and say, ‘Here’s
another $20 for the family lottery.’ We’re just thrilled we can help
family members, help our churches. It’s a good thing at a good time."
The
family has decided to take a lump sum payment of $14 million, which is
worth about $10 million after taxes. In addition to the 17 siblings, who
range in age from 53 to 76, three children of one of the siblings whose
father died recently will share in the winnings, family members said
Thursday.
They declined to specify how the money would be divided.
BEACHWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A lottery-playing tradition started
by the matriarch of a large New Jersey shore family paid off for her 17
children this week when the group won a $20 million jackpot that will
partly be used to help family members recover from 2012’s Superstorm
Sandy.
"I said to myself, ‘This couldn’t have come at a more
perfect time,’" Faith Schiabor said, describing a call she received from
her sister Sigrid Endreson, who held the winning ticket for the Pick 6
prize. "With Sandy, with the economy today, everybody’s really hurting.
"This is definitely going to help everyone; it’s going to help Ocean County because most of us live
here," she said.
At
a news conference at a community center Thursday, jokes and jocularity
mixed with some tears as the siblings described their struggle to
recover from the widespread damage brought by Sandy to the Toms River
area.
John Endreson, 69, became emotional when he described rebuilding his home after Sandy ripped through.
"The
hardest part was seeing other people that were devastated," he said. "I
was able to redo my house and help my family and my brothers. I was
quite fortunate. I just feel so lucky. And this is just the icing on the
cake."
Endreson added some levity when he poked fun at one of his
brothers who had just given reporters a lesson in pronouncing his last
name.
"I don’t care how you pronounce it, how you spell it, as
long as I can cash the check," Endreson said. (The name is pronounced
EHN’-dress-uhn.)
Sigrid Endreson said she bought the tickets and
forgot about them for about two weeks before going down to a supermarket
to check the numbers. When one came back with the message "See
cashier," she ran it through again before taking it up to the window and
getting the good news.
"I started to cry," she said. "I called my
sister to come get me. I didn’t think I was going to make it. I said,
‘I think I won the lottery.’"
The siblings’ father emigrated from
Norway to New Jersey, where he met their mother, whose family owned a
farm in East Brunswick. It was their mother, Flossie, who had played the
lottery for years, a tradition continued by her children, who began
pooling their money after her death about 10 years ago.
"We buy
our own lottery tickets with our new families, the new generation, so to
speak," said daughter Marie McHenry. "So we’re not thinking of this
family lottery except a few times a year when we pop in and say, ‘Here’s
another $20 for the family lottery.’ We’re just thrilled we can help
family members, help our churches. It’s a good thing at a good time."
The
family has decided to take a lump sum payment of $14 million, which is
worth about $10 million after taxes. In addition to the 17 siblings, who
range in age from 53 to 76, three children of one of the siblings whose
father died recently will share in the winnings, family members said
Thursday.
They declined to specify how the money would be divided.