North Vernon family of 7 collects $77,777

Staff Reports

Cynthia Lockhard of North Vernon was in search of a good night’s sleep for her husband when she went to buy cough medicine at Circle K at 790 North State St. in North Vernon.

“My husband had a cold, so I went to get Nyquil,” Lockhard said.

In the store, she made a spur-of-the-moment decision to buy an Emerald 7s Scratch-off ticket that ended up being a $77,777 top-prize winner, according to a media release from the Hoosier Lottery.

When claiming her winnings at Hoosier Lottery headquarters in Indianapolis, Lockhard explained that the number 7 is significant to her family.

In November, the family of four grew to seven when she and her husband, Daniel, took in three foster children. The five children range in age from 5 to 17.

“This timing is just unreal,” Lockhard, a stay-at-home mom, told lottery officials.

The couple is considering investing the winnings in an income-generating rental home, said Daniel Lockhard, assistant general manager at Martinrea International, an auto parts supplier in North Vernon.