CORNWALL, Ontario – A former Cornwall woman who went to the store to buy an ice cream for her fiancé has parlayed that trip into a $50-million windfall.
Deanna Bergeron, who now lives in Orillia, had earlier stolen a frozen treat from her husband and had visited the store to replace it.
At the time she bought the winning ticket.
“I usually buy lottery tickets when I know the jackpot is large and for some reason I bought two,” the personal trainer said in a statement on Monday.
“And I am so glad she did!” added fiance Jeff Bourret.
Deanna, a 30-year-old personal trainer, went to the store and Jeff had reminded her to also buy a ticket because of the $50-million jackpot. Deanna decided to purchase two Quick Pick tickets.
On the Sunday after the draw, Bergeron got a call from her mother telling her she heard someone in Orillia had purchased the winning ticket and urged her to check hers. She went online and saw the matching numbers on her ticket but was still unsure what prize she had won. She then took a picture of the ticket and texted it to Bourret who was at work.
Bourret quickly realized the seven numbers drawn matched the numbers on one of their tickets. That’s when he quickly left work, went home to pick up Bergeron and headed to the store to have the tickets validated. When the bells and whistles went off at the lottery terminal, they knew they had the $50-million winning ticket.
After plenty of happy tears, telling immediate family about their good fortune, they took some time for the life-changing news to sink in.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” said Bourret. “We got some great advice from our family and now we are turning to a team of financial advisors who will help guide us through this incredible good fortune, so that we can enjoy it for years and decades to come.”
The happy couple, who plan to get married in about two years, would like to take a trip to Hawaii and purchase a couple of new vehicles.
Bergeron grew up in Cornwall and plenty of friends from Cornwall are now wishing her well on social media.
