Andrews is winner of Dream Home

by Benita Fuzzell
DREAM HOME WINNER – Judy Andrews of South Fulton, left, and her husband Phillip Andrews display an artist’s rendition of a “Dream Home” which was raffled Sunday. The winning ticket for the home was purchased by Mrs. Andrews, with proceeds of the $100 ticket sales benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. (Photo by Benita Fuzzell) DREAM HOME WINNER – Judy Andrews of South Fulton, left, and her husband Phillip Andrews display an artist’s rendition of a “Dream Home” which was raffled Sunday. The winning ticket for the home was purchased by Mrs. Andrews, with proceeds of the $100 ticket sales benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. (Photo by Benita Fuzzell)

Sunday afternoons are the perfect time for an afternoon nap, at home on the couch, soft slumber, sweet dreams.

Or, Sunday afternoon could be the time when you don’t just dream at home....but you actually win a “Dream Home.”

That was the case for Judy Andrews of South Fulton, who. on Sunday afternoon, was notified by Television Station WPSD of Paducah, that the ticket she purchased for $100 in the St. Jude Dream Home drawing, was drawn, and she was the new owner of a brand new “Dream Home”.

“I was really not feeling well,” said Andrews, who resides with her husband, Phillip in their home they have occupied for years on West State Line in South Fulton.

The couple raised their two daughters there. Phillip was a Pharmacist prior to his retirement, and Judy was a high school teacher before joining her husband in the operation of Southside Drugs, in South Fulton.

They sold the business a few years ago and have enjoyed retirement, visiting with their grown daughters and their families, which includes two grandchildren.

It was on Sept. 9 that Judy had decided her sinus and allergy issues were not going to allow her to make it to church. So she settled in her comfortable chair with a blanket and began to watch a televised special which spotlighted the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., the beneficiary of proceeds derived from the sale of $100 tickets, which would be placed in a drawing for a brand new home, fully furnished, in a lovely subdivision in the Paducah area.

Judy said she and her husband had contributed to St. Jude on a number of times, and often participated in the Dream Home raffle.

“After all, it’s a win-win. Even if you don’t win the home, or one of the other prizes, you have donated to St. Jude and that is our charity of choice,” she said.

As the special programing began to draw to a close, the moment came when the winning ticket was to be drawn.

An interesting side note is that the young lady who was chosen to draw the winner seemed familiar to Andrews, and she realized she had met the young lady a short while ago. She was the granddaughter of a lifelong friend, who had introduced her during a golfing event. The young lady was a former patient of St. Jude, now in remission and currently a national spokesperson for the hospital.

“It seemed like when the name was spoken, for the winner, it took forever to hear the first and last name. At first, when they said ‘Judy’, I thought, well, someone named Judy is going to win. And then it seemed like several minutes passed, but I know that was not the case. And then, they said ‘Andrews’. I still thought it just could not be. But then when they said ‘of South Fulton, Tennessee, I think I squealed”, she said.

She began to call out to Phillip, in another part of the house, and the two met each other, each coming from different directions, Phillip initially concerned because of the sound in her voice.

“I then go really calm. And I told him I won the St. Jude Dream Home. We hugged and we were both shaking,” Judy recalled.

Shortly, she was officially contacted by WPSD and arrangements were made for a trip to Paducah that afternoon to see the new home for the first time. She said even all the years she has purchased a ticket, she has never toured one of the homes prior to the drawing.

“We walked up to the door and knocked, and a lady answered the door, who we later learned was associated with the builders. She asked if she could help us and I told her I was Judy Andrews. She said well come on in and see your new home,” Judy said.

A number of formalities still remain in the process, to legally and officially become the new home owner. The Andrews still have lots to consider as to their plans for the home.

“One thing I do intend to do, is to visit St. Jude. Of all the times I have been to Memphis, I have never actually visited the hospital. I know the whole story about the history and have read lots of things about it. But I would really like to go there. We are so blessed to have such a facility so close to us. And I feel so blessed that we have not ever had a reason for anyone in our family to have to use their services. But I have friends who I know, who have used the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I just think it is a wonderful thing. No one is ever turned away and they provide an amazing service to children and their families, “ she said.

“And when I do go there to visit, I will contribute to St. Jude, again. I will continue to do that,” Judy said.