Woman’s Last Wish Was to Raffle Off Her Car at Her Funeral. Her Niece Says She'd Be 'Proud' to Know a Teen Won
Gabriella Bonham, 16, won a car after attending Diane Sweeney's funeral in 2022
Courtesy Suzanne Singleterry
A teen won a Volkwagen that belonged to Diane Sweeney after attending the woman's funeral in 2022An Oklahoma woman who died last year finally had her unique wish fulfilled: a stranger who went to her funeral last year later won her car via a raffle.
Diane Sweeney, of Norman, was 68 years old when she died unexpectedly on July 7, 2022, according to her obituary. Her last wish was that someone at her funeral, which was held 15 days later, would own her 2016 Volkswagen Bug.
Those attendees who were present at the Resthaven Funeral home in South Oklahoma City and signed the guestbook would be entered in a raffle drawing for the car.
“My Aunt Diane was a woman of immense kindness and love,” Suzanne Singleterry, Sweeney’s niece, shared in a statement to PEOPLE on Monday. “She had an extraordinary sense of humor that brought out the silver lining of every situation.”
Courtesy Suzanne Singleterry
Diane Sweeney's funeral programAbout a month ago, more than a year after the funeral, Sweeney’s family announced that the winner of the Volkswagen Bug was teenager Gabriella Bonham.
“Diane was every young person's biggest supporter,” Singleterry said, “and the fact that her car is going to a young person from rural Oklahoma — not so far from where she grew up — would make her proud.”
Singleterry previously said that Bonham, who had never met Sweeney, saw the story about the upcoming raffle on the local news and, with the help of her family, traveled to Oklahoma City to attend Sweeney’s funeral, per KTVU.
Courtesy Suzanne Singleterry
An archival photo of Diane SweeneyRelated: TikToker Fakes His Death, Then Shows Up at His Funeral to Teach His Family a ‘Life Lesson’
At the time, Bonham, then 15, had just gotten her driver’s permit and was expected to inherit a 2007 Ford Edge that her grandparents owned and later passed down to her older sisters. More than a year after the funeral, the now 16-year-old, assumed that someone else won the Volkswagen and ended up driving the family's Ford Edge.
“I was babying it so nothing bad would happen and we were just praying for another opportunity to get another car,” Bonham told The Washington Post.
Related: Grandma Who Died of Cancer Made Ouija Boards for Her Funeral Guests: 'Let's Keep in Touch'
Then Bonham got the call from Rick Ingram, Sweeney’s nephew, last month that she won the raffle after his late aunt’s legal affairs were in order, the newspaper reported.
Bonham has owned the Volkswagen for a few weeks now, and she's been able to drive to her theater classes in Oklahoma City without having to ask her sisters to borrow their cars or hitch rides through them.
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“I’ve gained a lot of freedom,” she told the Post.
PEOPLE reached out to Bonham family for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Courtesy Suzanne Singleterry
A teen won a Volkswagen that formerly belonged to Diane SweeneyRelated: N.Y. Nursing Home Under Investigation After Woman Declared Dead Found Breathing at Funeral Home
Singleterry told the Post her aunt would be delighted to know her beloved car is giving a teen a newfound sense of freedom.
“It was a reflection of herself and her sense of humor,” Singleterry said of her aunt's final wish, “and wanting to go out making people feel happy and giving them one last laugh.”
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