June Smith, 77, won a £4.5m Omaze mansion overlooking the Fowey Estuary in Cornwall in 2023 and sold it to help her children get on the property ladder and secure her grandchildren’s futures
A grandmother who won a spectacular £4.5 million Omaze mansion in Cornwall said the “best part” was selling it off after one summer to secure her entire family’s future.
Widow June Smith, who moved from “living on a pension to owning a mansion” in one spectacular win, said the life-change is “still sinking in”, and nearly three years on and it “still feels like a dream” some days.
The 77-year-old had a once-in-a-lifetime summer at the Cornwall waterfront property before selling it for millions, guaranteeing the financial security of her children and six grandchildren.
June, from Essex, won the six-bedroom, three-storey property overlooking the Fowey Estuary through the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Cornwall, in 2023.
She had lost her husband, Ron, just a year before her win. The pair was married for 43 years and raised three children together.
June said her Omaze win enabled her to help the family onto the property ladder, pay off mortgages and back a new business ventures, providing her children and grandchildren with the strongest possible foundation in life.
She said: “I went from living on a single pension to owning a mansion. It still sounds mad when I say those words out loud.
“I honestly thought it was a wind-up. I was just settling down for a quiet Friday night in front of the telly when suddenly Omaze was at the door telling me I’d won a £4.5 million house, I was gobsmacked!
“I always thought people like me don’t win things like that. I remember just standing there thinking, this can’t be real. The first thing I did was call my children to share the good news. The second thing I did was open a nice bottle of red. I’ll never forget that night, it changed our lives forever.
“My husband Ron died the year before I won, and I really do feel like he played a part in the win. He always wanted our family to be safe and secure. Winning with Omaze meant that dream came true, in a way we could never have imagined. I know he’s smiling down on all of us.”
Upon first arriving at the Cornish property and gazing across the estuary, June described it as love at first sight.
“I just stood there and thought, wow,” she recalled. “Ron spent his life working in architecture and he would have absolutely loved this house.”
While June recognised selling the property would release a life-changing amount of money for her family, there was something she wanted to do beforehand.
She explained: “I knew I wanted to release the huge amount of money by selling the house, but I also knew I wanted one big, proper family summer there before we did anything.”
June enjoyed several months at the property with her children and grandchildren, even flying her eldest son and his family over from Australia for an extended business-class stay.
She said: “My six grandchildren absolutely made the most of it. They ran wild around the house and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It was the ultimate family holiday!
“The last time we holidayed in Cornwall we were all in a caravan. So to suddenly be together in a £4.5 million house was just mind-boggling. Those months together are memories we’ll cherish forever.”
Following that summer, June sold the property for millions of pounds, noting the greatest impact of her Omaze win was what it enabled her to do for her loved ones.
“Thanks to the money I also got with the house I could’ve easily kept it without a worry in the world.
“But selling the house meant I could help all my children with the next chapter of their lives,” she explained. “I’ve been able to help them get on the property ladder, clear mortgages and take away all the everyday money worries.
“They’re all in such a fantastic position now, especially at their age – it’s a world away from where I was at that stage in life!
“I’ve also been able to help start businesses for my children, which are now thriving, and that means they and my grandchildren have previously unimaginable financial security. Seeing the difference it’s made to them has been the best part of winning with Omaze, and I’ve still got plenty left for a rainy day!”
After falling in love with Cornwall, June bought another property in Fowey, unwilling to leave the county behind. She explained: “After that summer, I’d fallen in love with Fowey and knew I didn’t want to leave, so I used some of the money from the sale to buy a lovely place down here.
“We all love popping to the local pubs, tea and scones the Cornish way, walking along the harbour with fish and chips. I’ve also grown fond of the odd Cornish pasty, although they just call them pasties here of course! Everyone has been so welcoming, it really does feel like home.”
June said the windfall has provided her with a safety blanket for life.
She said: “I still wake up and think it was all a dream some days. It’s taken away all my worries – that’s a priceless gift in itself. Omaze didn’t just change my life, it changed all my family’s lives.
“Winning with Omaze was one of the most special days of our lives, but it’s what it’s allowed me to do for my family that’s made every day since, so special.”
James Oakes, President of Omaze, said: “June’s story shows the true impact of winning with Omaze. Life-changing prizes that can transform an entire family’s future, while raising millions for vital causes.”
