EX MARINE

We see many Powerball Lottery stories but few seem more deserving that this one. Tim Guderian, aged 36, is an ex-marine and served for six years and is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm. Tim left active duty in 1994. He is originally from Le Mars. Kellie, aged 44, was born in Sac City and has been married to Tim for almost seven years. They met while they were both working at Wal-Mart, where Kellie still works. Tim works at Irwin Auto Company in Fort Dodge where he is an automotive detailer.

The other member of their family is a cat named Wally. Wally was found by the couple at the Wal-Mart store in Fort Dodge when they both worked there, and is named after the store.

POWERBALL WINNERS TIM AND KELLIE GUDERIAN STOPPED TO BUY A SODA

The Powerball winners from Iowa were on their way to visit their parents and decided to stop and buy a soda at Kum & Go, 115 N. 22nd St. in Fort Dodge. “We played the Powerball lottery about twice a month but never expected to win – that was, until last Sunday. We bought the ticket last Saturday on the way to visit our parents,”

Tim Guderian said. In fact they decided to play Powerball with three Powerball Quick Picks at Kum & Go on 23rd September and one of those gave the Guderian’s the Powerball reward of $67.1 million for the Powerball draw on the same date.

POWERBALL WINNERS TIM AND KELLIE GUDERIAN WAIT TEN DAYS

The CEO of the Iowa Lottery Headquarters in Des Moines, Dr. Edward Stanek said that is was ten days before Tim and Kellie Guderian came forward and they had had some interesting phone calls in the meantime. “We heard speculation that there was a group of school teachers in Fort Dodge that had won the prize. We heard there was a 70 year old lady who had won the prize. We heard it was a group of factory workers from Fort Dodge.” Dr. Stanek said there were several people who called saying they were sure they had the winning ticket for the Powerball Lottery Iowa but they had lost it. The best story was a man who claimed his dog had eaten his winning ticket.

Some winners wait even longer to come forward as $97 million winner Carl Hunter showed in 2008 when he waited four whole months.

SAFE DEPOSIT BOX

Tim Guderian said, “What a stroke of luck. Ever since we realised we had the winning ticket, it seemed like a dream.” There are stories of Powerball lottery winners who immediately give up their jobs such as 2013 winner of $131.5 million Patricia Chandler but the Guderian’s do not intend to do this. “We may not have to work, but hard work is our way of life and we want to continue to be productive.”

As soon the lucky Powerball winners from Iowa realised they had the winning ticket, they put it safely inside a book until they could take it and put it in a secure safe deposit box.

CHARITIES

“We believe we should share some of our good fortune, “ Kellie Guderian said, “We believe it’s the right thing to do.” They have plans to donate money from their Powerball jackpot to several charities, most in the Fort Dodge area. They are members of the Christ Lutheran Church and plan to help them and also the Fort Dodget Community Foundation which has a long list of local projects which need financial backing.

The Guderian’s true love lies with animals and so they plan to help rebuild the animal shelter which is run by the Humane Society of North Central Iowa. They aren’t planning any big changes in their lives, but Tim said, “We are planning to take a vacation – the first since our honeymoon six years ago – hopefully to Australia. We are going to pay bills and hopefully buy a new car.”

Remember you can check your own lottery numbers by using our Powerball results checker to see if you’ve won a prize.