Winning a new home is something every newlywed couple dreams about, even if they are in their 80s. After years of buying STARS lottery tickets, a Taber, Alta. couple won big last week, claiming a brand new show home in Sylvan Lake.
“It hasn’t sunk in, really,” said STARS lottery winner Olive Huvenaars.
Olive and Peter Huvenaars are still settling into married life. The couple, in their 80s, met two years ago on a bus trip to Coeur D’Alene. Once the trip was over, they exchanged phone numbers. A year later, Olive packed up decades of memories, and moved from Saskatchewan to Taber.
“I guess it was meant to be,” Olive said. “We never knew each other before.”
Fate has been on their side recently, but the two never thought they would win a grand prize.
“I used to always say, ‘you know, it’s just not right, how come we just don’t win a little thing?’” Olive said.
The home is valued at over $900,000, but the couple has no plans to pack up and move to Sylvan Lake just yet.
“I just made a big move,” Olive said. “I couldn’t take another one.”
As for Peter, he says he won’t make any decisions until he sees the home.
WATCH: STARS Ambulance was doing the grand prize draws for their four lottery homes located across Alberta Thursday morning, and Lorraine Mansbridge was live on the Global News Morning Edmonton to announce the winners of both the Sylvan Lake and Edmonton homes.
Supporting the medevac service is important to them, especially in rural Alberta, where hospitals can be far away. Peter is a retired farmer and Olive is the grandmother of a doctor.
“The main thing is to keep the sky full of helicopters,” Peter said.
The couple could be in line for another prize down the road as they plan to continue to support the STARS charity for years to come.
Taber is about 260 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
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