Woman who died homeless left behind $884,000 unclaimed inheritance from her mother

In January 2020, a 49-year-old woman died after becoming unwell in a homeless shelter in Astoria, Oregon. Before her death, Cathy Boone lived on the streets for over four years.

Her father, Jack Spithill, revealed that her mother, Patricia Lupton, died in 2016 and that she began to struggle with mental health concerns and began consuming drugs as a result of her mother’s death.

Following her mother’s death, a judge ordered that Boone receive $884,407 from Lupton’s estate in 2019. Authorities attempted to contact the 49-year-old but were unable to locate her. As a result, her sizable bequest was returned to a state bank, where it awaited Boone’s claim.

According to Metro, Boone experienced lung problems while living at the Astoria Warming Shelter in Oregon six months after being granted the money. She later died at Portland’s St Vincent’s Hospital. According to Spithill, it’s unclear whether she was aware that the money was hers or if she even knew how to access it.

He also characterised his daughter as having a “tough life” and in serious need of financial assistance. “It didn’t make sense to me at all. That money was just lying there, and she desperately needed help “‘I told 12 News,’ he said. “She had a difficult existence, but when she was nice, she was fantastic.”

Her friends, on the other hand, were evidently unaware that Boone had that much money at her disposal. They revealed that she, like many others living in unprotected, terrible conditions outside, battled to survive. “We all have our moments,” said Glen Lonquist, a friend of Boone’s. “For the most part, she had more smiles than cries.”

Boone, who grew up in the Portland area, struggled with mental health issues when her parents divorced when she was a child. “I ascribe it almost entirely to drugs,” her father, Spithill, who remarried, continued, “but I believe she also had some mental health difficulties, and the combination of the two didn’t work out very well for her.” Boone volunteered at a cafe in Portland for years before relocating to Astoria with her mother.