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| Updated: 6/11/2012 7:46 am |
Published: 6/10/2012 4:41 pm |
HOT SPRINGS, AR - Sunday, the Osborne family lake home in Hot Springs sold for $840,000 at auction plus the buyer's premium. It is the last of the Osborne's five homes set to be sold to help the late philanthropist's family get out of debt.
As the auction ended Sunday, emotions ran high.
"I'll sleep well for the first time tonight in weeks. This has been a lot of pressure," says auctioneer Thomas Blackmon.
On the fifth and final day of the Osborne estate auction, Jennings Osborne's widow, Mitzi, wanted to thank everyone for their support.
"There's got to be angel feathers all over this state for the last week or so. Maybe longer than that. It's just unbelievable how supportive people have been. They've prayed for me. They've bought me cookies. They've brought me drinks. They've cooked for me," says Mitzi Osborne.
As auctioneers sold off the last items from the estate, including boats and grills, memories came flooding back for Osborne's closest friends and former employees.
"Jennings was a real giver and if we had more people like that, this world would be much easier and much better," said former employee and friend Bryant Morris.
The Hot Springs lake house sold for $840,000 to a man who told Mitzi she could come visit.
"She was very happy for me and for us, my wife and I, and I promised I would do a good job to keep it up, keep up the tradition. It's a very rich one, I hear," says Greg Igbokidi.
And, while the family saw most of its estate go to strangers this week, it did get to keep one item- a Mickey Mouse pin Jennings Osborne wore almost every day.
"That was her Daddy's. We were kind of lucky to get that back," says Mitzi. "We have many happy memories of barbeques, and Christmas lights. It's all about making somebody happy. It doesn't take money to make people happy or to help people. You can do it with your head, your hands and your heart."
