A Fort Dodge man who works as a car detailer, and his wife who works at Wal-Mart, stepped forward today to claim the 200-point-eight million dollar Powerball jackpot from the September 23rd drawing.
Thirty-six-year-old Tim Guderian and his 44-year-old wife Kellie will take a lump sum payment of nearly 96-million dollars.
Guderian served six years in the Marines and is a Gulf War veteran who says they were living paycheck-to-paycheck. Guderian says their life changed that Saturday on the way to visit their parents. He says they stopped to buy some pop and decided to buy a ticket. Guderian says the next Sunday night he was sitting in his chair and decided to look at his numbers, and then all he could say was “Oh my God. Oh my God!”
Kellie says she took the ticket and her husband then read her the numbers. She says all she could says was, “Oh my God. Oh my God!” . Kellie says winning this much money has been overwhelming and they have been working with a financial planner and an attorney.
Kellie says they will share their good fortune. Kellie says they plan to make gifts to their families, their church, but most of their giving will stay in Fort Dodge in the form of gifts to the Fort Dodge Community Foundation for community projects. She says they will also give a gift to the North Central Iowa Humane Society for the group’s new animal shelter. The couple has a stray cat they found at the Wal-Mart where Kellie works and they call it “Wally.”
The director of the Iowa Lottery says rumors have been running rampant since the single jackpot winner’s location was announced. Tim Guderian says he heard all the rumors and says it was tough to keep the secret. He says it was not easy, but Guderian says once they told a few family members, it became easier to keep the secret.
Kellie says everyone at work was talking about the winning ticket and she had to avoid the talk. Kellie says when she was in the break room or at lunch and people were talking, she just pretended she was reading the newspaper.
Tim says they had a good life before winning the jackpot. He say they were pretty happy, but now they won’t have the financial stress of living paycheck-to-paycheck and trying to decide what bills to pay. The couple says they plan to take their first trip since their honeymoon — possibly to Australia. They also may buy a new car. It’s the largest Powerball prize ever won in Iowa.