BC/49 Winners Susan Hook and Martha McCallum: Best Friends Forever

It is a sad reality that winning the lottery can often damage friendships that you may have with people. This may be because you change after winning a large sum or, as is more often the case, your friends try and take advantage of your win for their own gain. Regardless of the reason that your friendship may be affected, it is a sad circumstance that is just one of the by-products of becoming an instant millionaire. Or is it?

In this article, we will look at a friendship between two women that was only strengthened by a lottery win. The women we are talking about are BC/49 winners Susan Hook and Martha McCallum.

Who Are Susan Hook and Martha McCallum?

You may have heard the name of these two women if you have been paying any attention to Canadian lottery news. The two are widows from Kamloops, Canada. However, they are something much more than that. Susan and Martha have been self-confessed best friends for a staggering 50 years. The two met when they were both young and instantly hit it off with one another. Over the years, the two became incredibly close, and their bond only strengthened. After the passing of both of their significant others, the two decided that they might as well continue sharing their lives with one another and moved in together. It is at this point in their lives that everything changed.

The Winning Ticket

Little is known as to whether or not Susan and Martha regularly played the lottery. What we do know is that the two decided to purchase a lottery ticket for the BC/49 draw that was scheduled to take place on August 17, 2019, together.

It was the next day that Martha, who was keeping the ticket safe for the two of them, decided to check the ticket while she was on her lunch break at work. Martha admits that when she checked the ticket, she was slightly confused as to what all the zeros meant. And so, she continued on back to work and carried on with the rest of her day.

However, the ticket did not display a variety of zeros for no reason. In fact, the ticket that was purchased by the two long-time friends was a ticket valued at a fantastic $2 million. As you may expect, it did not take the two women very long to figure this out and claim their prize.

A Touching Tribute

While winning $2 million at a later stage in your life may already be something to celebrate, there was something more than just winning money that made the win special for the woman. Susan recounts saying that she needed a glass of wine when she heard that they had won—even though she is not a drinker. The reason for this is because of the date on which the two widows became millionaires. The draw date (August 17) also happened to be the anniversary of the day that Susan’s husband had passed on.

Both women admit to crying when discovering the news, and Susan admits that she dreads August 17 each year as she remembers her loss. However, while the painful memory may still be there, Susan now has something to balance the sadness that that time of the year brings to her.

Carrying On

After claiming their winnings, the two friends continue to live together and share their lives with one another. Both stated that they would not be doing anything flashy with their money but would instead simply be making sure that they could live comfortably. However, they did state that they would like to realise their lifelong dreams of travelling around the world. We think this is a fantastic goal for two friends and will be an absolutely wonderful reward to celebrate the friendship of two women who have been there through every significant and difficult moment in each other’s lives.

So, the next time your friend mentions splitting the cost of a lottery ticket together, consider the story of Susan and Martha. You never know—you and your friend may be the next lottery winners who get to realise their dreams of travelling the world together.