LEE COUNTY—FT MYERS
A father's last request turned a Bokeelia woman into a millionaire. Yolanda Williams is celebrating her lottery winnings, but is also mourning the loss of the man who told her to buy the ticket.
Fifty year old Yolanda Williams from Bokeelia got a check for $1.3 million in Tallahassee. She won the Mega-Money jackpot thanks to her father.
"It's my father that done this. My daddy blessed my sister with the hitting of $1.3 million," said Dawn Ochadleus, Yolanda's sister.
Frank Reppa, a former Marine and commercial fisherman, loved the lottery so much he never missed a drawing. That's why last Tuesday afternoon, he pleaded for his daughter to get tickets and gave her the money for the tickets.
Reppa died hours later from natural causes.
Just hours after that, the numbers Williams played were drawn.
"My dad always said, when I leave this world, I'm going to make sure you're all right. Nothing to worry about," said Reppa.
Ochadleus and Reppa say their first wish for the money is to redo their father's home in St. James City, a place where he lived for more than fifty years.
A father's last request turned a Bokeelia woman into a millionaire. Yolanda Williams is celebrating her lottery winnings, but is also mourning the loss of the man who told her to buy the ticket.
Fifty year old Yolanda Williams from Bokeelia got a check for $1.3 million in Tallahassee. She won the Mega-Money jackpot thanks to her father.
"It's my father that done this. My daddy blessed my sister with the hitting of $1.3 million," said Dawn Ochadleus, Yolanda's sister.
Frank Reppa, a former Marine and commercial fisherman, loved the lottery so much he never missed a drawing. That's why last Tuesday afternoon, he pleaded for his daughter to get tickets and gave her the money for the tickets.
Reppa died hours later from natural causes.
Just hours after that, the numbers Williams played were drawn.
"My dad always said, when I leave this world, I'm going to make sure you're all right. Nothing to worry about," said Reppa.
Ochadleus and Reppa say their first wish for the money is to redo their father's home in St. James City, a place where he lived for more than fifty years.
