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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSheelah Ryan-1994 Ryan keeps giving even after death , ❑The $55 million lottery winner left a well-funded ;' ; er «„:c foundation to continue ^ helping those less v.PEr1F7JaLrnaEL RLE' •'• fortunate than she was.- Sheelah Ryan said last year that she didn't thank God she had 1 y Roger Roy won the lottery; she thanked God for her ability to help others. or THE SEMINLa STAFF Sheelah Ryan,who won $55 mil- lion in the Florida Lottery and used it.to help everyone from underprivi- teged children to shay cats, died of mincer at her Winter Springs home We Saturday at the age of 69. Ryan's winnings in September 1988 made her the largest single lottery winner in America and the n}stant focus of lottery-fever day- dreamers around the world. A reluctant celebrity,Ryan avoid- ed publicity,but she made good on her pledge to help others through R*gam the Ryan Foundation, a charitable Sheelah was most proud of her 38 years of organization she established and service to Bill W.The Mass of ChrisbM Bur- ial for Sheets,M.Ryan.age 69,of Winter headed to aid those in need. Springs,who peeeeb away Saturday.will be -"I thank God every day," Ryan conducted Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.at St.MM- Raid last year,"that I have the ab6i- fel Mary Catholic Church with Father Richard Walsh as celebrant.Interment will ig to help others,not that I won." p��m a�nitor%Memorial s will a�wodar Pamela Ohab,who serves on the from 2-9 p.m with a wake service at 7:00 foundation's board of directors, at the Altamonte chaps of the Baldwin said Sunday the organization"will Fairchild Funeral Home.Ms.Ryan is sur- vived nite deBl continue?'three nephews.Dennis and Carol Y Ryan.Long Island,New York;Kevin Ryan. "It's really her legacy,and that's New Port Ritchie;Terry Ryan.Los Anles; µdrat she wanted," Ohab said. two nieces,Maura Ryan,Virginal Terry Ellen two sist�inn�, ",the left it very well funded." •Jupiter;devoted Mends Shirley and Larry '+Ryan has received annual pay- .Young and Pwneladwb;nine great nieces merits of $2,767,361 since 1988. and nephews.Memoflal donations may be That sum will continue to go to • made to Safe House a Seminole Foundation,a:on. l3tr estate every September until 9(/D c� a l07 .SR.434, i Tee Span , a, vl '3270,SR.434,N-FAI Springs,FUNERAL Ste 20-year payout is completed. HOME. 9ALDWMmonte n NtamoML Details of Ryan's financial ar- Veina 994 L 32E.701 01407/89 Drive,Altemoma . ,FL.327ot ap7fBaeat t t. bg epts and her illness were being g kept private,Ohab said.But friends reported that Ryan had Ryan used money to `enrich the community'„ RYANfrom A-1 whether she had ever been married,or discuss her per- RYAN soul life. been ill for several months. The mystique continues even after her death. A Rif neral notice,purchased by the family and appearing in Ryan had no children but is survived by several today's Orlando Sentinel,said Ryan"was most proud nieces and nephews and two sisters-in-law, some of of her 38 years of service to Bill W." Whom serve on the foundation's board of directors. Nephew Dennis Ryan declined to discuss Bill W. The only relative who could be reached Sunday said "To people who know who Bill W.is,it's selfexplana- the family would not comment. tory; he said. In September 1988,Ryan was a real estate broker liv- In 1989, Ryan bought a $260,000 home on Bear, ing modestly with her two cats, Shannon and Buy,at Creek Circle in Winter Springs—purchased through Hacienda Village,a Winter Springs mobile home park. a trust to keep the location secret—and established She bought four lottery tickets each week,using the her foundation. same four sets of six numbers.But in August that year, The foundation funds a shelter program for worn-: changed her strategy and began picking different en and children and has provided numbers each time. a grants for medical: From the ant and food the assistance for the elderly. page of the Aug.30 d change her life One g of the ood organizations Ryan contributed a to airs; Ryan chose the numbers that would change her life the Neighborhood Affiliates Bringing Home Repairs-� —3-5-19-20-27-35. in Seminole,a group that repairs homes for the Ryan's numbers were drawn during the Labor Day Don Non, who founded the program, went to the;': weekend.No one had won the state's lottery for sev- Ryan Foundation a few years ago to request a done ell weeks,and the jackpot had grown to record size. tion to buy a used van to carry building materials; When state officials announced that a single winning The foundation came through with the van — and ticket had been purchased at a Longwood supermarket also with monthly donations for about three years, meaning the huge jackpot wouldn't be y split among the which Often the hadn't requested. multiple ticket-holders—everyone wanted to know the Often the money came not from the foundatiow new multimillionaire's identity. when she learned of someone who needed help or whit But Sheelah Ryan was lying low. She had talked to had done a good turn,but from Ryan's own bands. h1 an attorney Mend and quietly made arrangements to go Ryan gave$10,000 to help pay for a teen-ager's kid+ Tallahassee as" to claim her prize. ney transplant. She donated $1,000 to an animal; The day before she left, she stopped to see Nancy rights group at the University of Central Florida 'tZI Damson, a neighbor of nine years, to ask Damuon to find homes for stray cats,and$2,000 to buy tlagpold' feed her cats.Damson knew something big was up. at Oviedo High School. -. She woe over here,and she was frantic,just beside She once gave $500 to a 16-year-old Tavares High herself,"Damon said Sunday,recalling the incident."I - School student who had turned in an unendorsed thought someone in her family had.died.But finally she $100,000 cashier's check he found, explaining, "That said,'You won't believe.it,I think I won the lottery." kind of honesty deserves to be rewarded, especiallz Before Ryan left for Tallahassee, she woe back to in this day and age." pray with Amon' Seminole County Commissioner Larry Furlong got: FR never forget,she prayed that she'd never be any- to know Ryan through their mutual interest in theii° body but Sheelah Ryan, that she would never change. Irish heritage. And she didn't,"Dames said. "The Sheelah rnae. d said she built a housing n where saw was the same Sheelah Ryan you meat she h named Ki members after lived. Id. town where she won" Ryan who lived here before some of her family members had lived. .y if "If God had meant for somebody to win that mores f Ryan was the same,her life was suddenly very cif- ey, it must have been her. She really used it to eat rich the community." Outside her home in what had been a quiet mobile L Survivors include three nephews,Dennis Ryan, WL home park with mostly retina, crowds of reporters, Long Island in New York; Kevin Ryan,New Port eel; television crews and curiosity seekers gathered to get a chey; Terry Ryan, Los Angeles; and two niece glimpse of the new multimillionaire. Callers from Marra Ryan of Virginia and Terry Bauer of West* around the world were phoning in investment tips,loan Palm Beach. requests and marriage proposals. Ryan male appear- The family will receive friends at 7 p.m. today aD ances or all three television network morning news pro- Baldwin-Fairchild Funeral Home, Altamonte ' Springs. Services are scheduled for 9:30 am. TueC But through it all, and in the years that followed, day at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 528 Nom Ryan revealed little of her private life: She was born in Park Ave.,Winter Park. .� New York City, moved to Central Florida in 1975 and Sande Pedicini and Gary Taylor of the Sentinel had no children. In interviews, she would not say staff contributed to this report. gyo9e (c. Ryan a winner without money Most people only dream of what Ms. Ryan's benevolence is even more they would do if suddenly they remarkable in light of her modest, pre- were wealthy. lottery lifestyle in a mobile-home park. For Sheelah Ryan of Winter Springs, Few would have faulted Ms. Ryan if she who died Saturday night at age 69, that had decided to indulge herself in dream became reality extravagance. y n 1988 when she won $55 million in the Florida Lottery, That, though, was not Ms. Ryan's way. becoming the largest sole winner of a lot- Those who knew her said she wanted the tery jackpot in the United States. money not to change her. By all accounts, It would be incomplete, though, to it did not. remember Ms.Ryan only for her winnings. At a time when many adults seem driv- What she did with much of her jackpot Ryan aset eat fine exatmpple, using her —establishing a foundation that dispersed resources to improve her community. money to do good works — was far more significant. She will be missed. Letters to the editor- Goodbye, Ms. Ryan THIS IS a tribute to a great lady I was privileged to know and love, Sheelah Ryan. Sheelah, my dear, you shall be missed. We never heard an uttered word of evil from your mouth. Your graciousness was clearly felt by all who were around you.Your kindness, so genuine and rare. Your apprecia- tion of all things great and small, es- pecially music,the arts, dance,people in need, and don't forget precious Si- amese cats and all other helpless little creatures. You always looked through the bad—to the good in each of us.You were hurt only by the greed in some. You're a great and grand lady. You won a lottery; that never changed you for a second. You were always the same. You are now with friends; you are with God, for you are most worthy. We love you dearly. Fare- well. 91 O ' 2 7 Kathy Dickelmap LONGWOOD Through the years I've known many people who were suddenly thrust into wealth; few handled z it well. She did it with grace. Pam Ohab, a close friend for af ra " How? She never changed. Ask l5 years and her accountant, t F ' aap. those who were. closest to her. says Ryan's was "tough love." ag;,..''=44 j She sincerely cared about others She preferred to help people• >h'' r, k 33 Ns '? •2. and sought no credit for her. help themselves. That's what u' 00 11..-,:a'%....a I 'r-749`i good deeds. She was truly a she believed in; she didn't .ca11s b, ° b 1/4f1 humble person, before and after change. `: `�`t .+� • .'' •,k4-v F her fame. Ryan's lottery winnings will Oh, sure. She traded the Mer- continue to flow in for the re- Don Boyett cury for a Lincoln Town Car, minder of the 20-year payout, bought a nice home, helped her and, says Ohab, the foundation OUR COUNTY - family.But that was it. will continue sharing its funds Jim and Nancy Damron lived with causes in Seminole County, across the street from her for just as though she were alive. Sheelah Ryan gave nine years and were among the Much of the money, she says, few people she was close to. It will go to scholarships, some- more than money was with Nancy Damron that thing in which Ryan had a grow- Ryan prayed that remarkable ing interest. Rather than to indi- Asteady 'course: Sheelah prayer before leaving to claim viduals,though,it will be direct- Ryan was a most generous her prize — that she would nev- ed to reliable scholarship funds, person. The foundation she er be anyone but Sheelah Ryan, she says. set up will eventually spread that she would never change. The last time I talked with much of her$55 million in Florida Later,Ryan would tell that she Ryan she apologized for being so Lotto winnings to the benefit of thanked God every day, not for tired. She talked briefly of her people in Seminole County. That her winning the lottery, but for heart surgery a few years back in itself is remarkable. " her ability to help others. And and of her battle with cancer. But at her death over the the truth is,she meant it. She was living her life a day at a weekend, this remarkable wom- Often, when I would write time, she said, and her greatest an left an even greater legacy for about some needy cause, she joy was that she could help oth- the taking — a lesson in how to would call to ask for more de- ers. She was content with being live. tails. Later, I might learn (by herself. I met her soon after she became chance)a check went that way,if The Scriptures tell us it is more the U.S.-record lottery winner. not from the foundation, then difficult for a camel to pass She had dropped by the office to from her personal account. through the eye of a needle than thank a reporter and a photogra- Linda Kuhn is a victim's advo- for a rich person to enter heaven's pher.who had been the exceptions ' cate for the State Attorney's Of- gates.Difficult,not impossible. among a badgering press. She rice and heads efforts to build a Surely, Sheelah Ryan did the came because, well, that's the spouse abuse shelter in Semi- difficult with the grace of a person kind of person she was. nole. After six years battling who was always herself. As she and I talked for most of public indifference, it's about to an hour,I couldn't help thinking become a reality and will be how calm and serene she was. named for Ryan. Says Kuhn, it Here she had just won $55 mil- is to the credit of this remark- lion and she sat there as though able woman. She wouldn't give her biggest concern was what to up. cook for supper. Often, as with the shelter, her She talked of her hopes to gifts came with a string. She helpnthers, and I thought, "Uh- would put up a sum as a chal- huh." Of course, she would re- lenge to others also to give_And place that old Mercury that sometimes there would be condi- balked each time she turned the lions. key..And she would have to. move somewhere that crowds couldn't find easily. 91/ o 9,17