KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – At the beginning of August, Jonathan Sparkman purchased a scratch-off lottery ticket and almost threw it away after believing he hadn’t won anything. Instead, he had the owner of Midfield Market in Kingsport, the gas station where he purchased his ticket, take a second look.
That’s when they made the discovery that Sparkman had won $1 million on a Millionaire Jumbo Bucks ticket.
“So I picked the ticket back up and went to Midfield to him, and he helped me discover I won,” said Sparkman.
Sparkman’s wife Bethany said she originally questioned if he had truly won.
“He called and told me he was at Midfield and he had won $1 million,” said Bethany. “At first, I really didn’t believe him. But then he told me that the owner was going to follow him out. And I was very excited and shocked.”
Bethany said it took time for the family to wrap their head around the idea that they had won.
“I still couldn’t really wrap my head around it,” said Bethany. “I think it took a couple of days, even after we got the initial check, to know that life was changing.”
After collecting his winnings, Sparkman decided to put his money toward the future.
“I paid off the house, put the kids’ common trust funds, and we invested the rest,” said Sparkman. “Because I wanted to make sure my family’s took care of.”
Bethany said this was something both of them felt was important.
“We both really value family and we have a large family,” said Bethany. “So that was our number one goal, to set them up.”
Both Bethany and Jonathan said that while they both continue to work, the money allows them to spend more time with their family.
“We were both having to work full-time jobs, overtime, consistently busy with work,” said Bethany. “But now we’re able to be home and be with them.”
