Woman Dies Alone in a Shelter despite $884,000 Inheritance That Was Waiting for Her

A 49-year-old Oregon mother died in a homeless shelter without claiming the $884,000 she had inherited from her late mother.

Cathy Boone was a homeless mother roaming the streets of Astoria while she had inherited a fortune after her mother's death.

Boone's father revealed that his daughter wasn't living the best life before she died and needed help because she suffered from severe mental health issues.

A HOMELESS MOTHER

The news of Boone's death went viral after people discovered that she had thousands of dollars she had not claimed, and she spent the last part of her life on the streets.

She regularly visited the shelter and slept there wearing her favorite pajamas. In January 2020, she experience breathing problems while at the Astoria Warming Shelter and was rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital. Sadly, she passed away at the hospital.

Boone's father, Jack Spithill, revealed a bit about her life:

“She had a rough life but when she was good, she was really good.”

HER EARLY LIFE

Boone went through a rough patch as a child when she saw her parents part ways. Her father remarried but kept in touch with her.

They had even hired a private investigator but failed in their mission.

She grew up in Portland, where she volunteered at a non-profit organization. Later, she moved to Astoria to stay with her mother, who passed away in 2016.

SHE COULDN'T HANDLE THE PAIN

After her mother's death, Boone isolated herself and lost contact with family and friends. She had developed mental problems while dealing with her mother's demise.

While she was away, her mother's attorney tried to connect with her to tell her about her share in the inheritance. They left her messages on Facebook, called her, published ads in the local newspapers, and even contacted her relatives.

Unfortunately, they couldn't locate Boone. They had even hired a private investigator but failed in their mission.

THE MONEY WENT TO THE STATE

Since no one could locate Boone, a judge ordered her mother's estate to go to the Department of State Lands. This was standard practice for inheritance money that couldn't reach the heirs.

Feeling bad for his daughter, Spithill confessed in an interview:

“It just didn’t make any sense to me. That money was just sitting there, and she needed help in the worst way.”

WHAT OTHERS SAID ABOUT HER

Boone's friends and family confessed they had no idea she had inherited so much money after her mother's death.

She had made many friends at the shelter. Donny Holder, one of her friends who often shared coffee with her at McDonald's, had photos of Boone with him and thought she was a "sweetheart." He confessed:

“I fell in love with her.”

Another friend, Glen Lonquist, said Boone was mostly smiling despite going through the worst patch of her life. He rarely saw her cry at the shelter.

After her mother's death, she spent her life struggling for necessities while people looked for her to hand over her share of the inheritance.

According to her father, it isn't clear whether Boone knew about her inheritance. He said she was going through mental health issues, so it wasn't right to guess she knew about the money.

BOONE'S FATHER REGRETTED NOT HELPING HER

Spithill said his daughter wouldn't have approached the attorney to ask for her share in her mother's estate, but he thought she was surrounded by people who could have helped her live a better life.

The man regretted not helping his daughter. He said he had "given up on her" and never acknowledged the mental health problems she was going through.

THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF STATE LANDS FELT SORRY

The unclaimed property manager working at the Oregon Department of State Lands, Claudia Ciobanu, said the personal representative and attorney tried for over a year to locate Boone after knowing she had inherited money from her mother's estate.

Ciobanu stated:

“There really isn’t much more that the state could do.”

She sympathized with Boone's family while stating that the homeless mother was just a step away from claiming her inheritance. She needed to contact the attorney and get her share in her mother's estate.

IT ISN'T EASY TO BE HOMELESS AND HAVE HEALTH ISSUES

After her death, Boone's friends realized that it must have been difficult for her to live on the streets and struggle with health problems. They agreed that it was difficult circumstances that made people live in shelters.

Do you think the system should have performed better to give Boone the money she had inherited from her late mother? Some people might blame the system for keeping the woman away from her fortune.

Her two children could claim the inheritance and get the fortune she couldn't inherit. Other people in her family could also get their share of her inherited money.

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