OLYMPIA— Donelda Queen, a 50-year-old caregiver from Monroe, plans to spend a little time this summer taking care of herself. After winning the $145,000 Hit 5 drawing from May 31, she’s happy to finally feel like the one getting pampered for a change.
While doing some regular grocery shopping at Fred Meyer in Monroe, Queen decided that she’d try her luck and pick up a ticket to the Hit 5 drawing. It wasn’t until days later when she was back at the store picking up a few things when she remembered to check her ticket.
She handed her ticket over to the customer service counter and was totally unprepared for the surprised reaction she received as the cashier scanned it in the Check-a-Ticket machine.
“The clerk’s eyes got really big, and I felt a tinge of anxiety as I watched his reaction,” Queen said. “They looked and me and smiled and said ‘Congratulations, but we can’t cash this!’ They told me I won $145,000…and then I just started crying. I was so overcome with emotion!”
After Queen left the store she hurried back home to call her kids and let them know she won. Her son was in total disbelief and stopped by to see the winning ticket for himself.
“Everyone is just very happy for me,” Queen said. “My son, my daughter, even the 100-year-old woman I care for told me that she thinks it couldn’t have happened to a better person. It just feels so wonderful for it to be real, because when I dreamed about winning the Lottery, I never really dreamed I could truly win.”
When it was time to go to sleep that night, Queen couldn’t seem to turn off her thoughts.
“I hid the ticket under my pillow and I just kept holding on tight to it,” Queen said. “I kept thinking, ‘What on earth am I going to do with this money?’”
After being up all night thinking, Queen decided to invest most of the money for her retirement but buy a new Honda she’s been dreaming about for awhile.
Queen won the May 31 Hit 5 drawing when she matched the numbers 07-12-24-30-34. The winning ticket was purchased from Fred Meyer located at 18805 Highway 2 in Monroe.
