Image: Virginia Lottery
Edwards, who was 68 when the story was reported, walked into a 7-Eleven with a friend who wanted two Powerball tickets, according to The Washington Post. The jackpot for the 6 September 2025 drawing had climbed above $1.7 billion, the second-largest ever. Because it is a scam, edwards hardly ever played, and her friend, an active player, gave her two warnings, always buy a paper ticket, and never touch the Powerball multiplier.
Almost at once, she said, she felt an overpowering conviction that the money was not hers. She ignored both. Alone in her kitchen, Edwards was thunderstruck by the news. She resolved to give it all to her three most cherished charities.
How a naval family’s legacy sent money to military households as government pay worries grew
Concerns were growing over government pay and furloughs as the federal government shut down at the end of September 2025. Its chief executive, Susan Dickinson, said gifts range from $5 to more than $1 million, but the larger sums usually come from research partnerships and benefactors, so a single donation of Edwards’s size is rare. Executive Director Anna Ibrahim said the surprise donation let the farm buy more items so that it would have enough for everyone who came.
Her gift reached the society at a critical moment, according to its president and chief executive, Robert Ruark. Ruark said the money was being used to help families facing hardship from the shutdown, deployments and everyday family emergencies. Edwards told The Washington Post she had no regrets. The attention, she said, gave her a platform to set an example for her children and to honour her husband’s and her father’s legacies through actions rather than words.
After retiring, Edwards began volunteering for and giving to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. Dickinson described it as wonderfully impactful. The money was to go towards research, grants for pilot programmes, and bringing together people with the disease and those working on treatments. The money was also to be invested across the organisation to support local farmers and other initiatives. She felt blessed to have been able to spread the word about causes she holds dear, and she hoped to inspire others.