Chris Bonanno

FLORIDA TODAY

Thousands of feet above the Florida countryside, the new lives of a Brevard County couple snapped into sharp focus.

On their way to Tallahassee to claim their share of a $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot, David Kaltschmidt, 55, and his wife, Maureen Smith, 70, came to the realization that very little will be the same from this point on.

"We were on the plane heading here, and it's just really real," Kaltschmidt said of the surreal feeling. "It's just so overwhelming."

Telling a packed news conference they were accepting a lump-sum option of $327,835,077 before taxes, the couple told reporters how much they love their Melbourne Beach area home and how their future is still a bit uncharted.

Kaltschmidt works as a manufacturing engineer at Northrop Grumman and, not surprisingly, said he will be retiring. Smith referred to herself as a homemaker.

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The duo claimed their prize as The Nickel 95 Trust and indicated that the moniker had special meaning to them, though they declined to say why.

Smith said the decision to accept a lump sum, rather than a payment over time that would add up to greater earnings, was due to her age. She purchased the ticket at a Melbourne Beach Publix. The drawing on Jan. 13 set off a national mania as rumors about winners rose and fell.

The couple has been married since 1980 and moved to the Melbourne Beach area in 1991 from Long Island, New York.

Smith said she played the winning numbers of 4-8-19-27-34 with a Powerball of 10 for many years but she did not play the lottery itself that often. Those numbers, she said, did not have a special significance.

"I've been playing them for so many years I really don't remember," she said.

Kaltschmidt said he woke up on the morning of Jan. 14 and found the lottery sheet with the combination without any circles on it, which in their parlance would indicate missed numbers.

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"Oddly enough, I checked the ticket and everything matched up so I said ‘she's messing with me,’” he joked.

Once reality began to set in, they made a decision to keep the news quiet from anyone else until this week – an agreement they made on the advice of legal counsel.

There are and have been a fair share of challenges for the couple, including hiding the news from others.

“I’m afraid it’s going to make me less friendly,” Smith said.

Kaltschmidt said he has lost sleep and even weight since the news, noting that they increased security measures at their home in unincorporated Brevard.

And that home is where they’d like to stay for now.

"We love it down there. It's paradise," Kaltschmidt said of Melbourne Beach.

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On a more long-term basis, the couple indicated that they wanted to use the money to help loved ones and perhaps those in need.

"Of course we're going to take care of the family and we have a lot to think about,” Smith said. “It's very stressful, it's new and we really don't know. We'll have to think about it."

Kaltschmidt said instead of designing airplanes, he wanted to focus on charities and tax strategies.

As for their first splurges with the winnings, Smith said a new car and a massage are in the cards.

“My truck’s about to fall apart,” Kaltschmidt said.

Florida Lottery secretary Tom Delacenserie said it would take two days to deposit the money in their bank account but that "they were going to try to do it a little bit faster than that."

Neighbors surprised, happy for local Powerball winners

The big jackpot and the pair’s win benefitted others, as well.

The Powerball generated more than $114 million for schools in the state of Florida. And the Publix at 3830 Highway A1A in Melbourne Beach received $100,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Smith was likely pleased with the fact that Publix received the donation.

"The Publix. That's my second home. Everybody there is so friendly,” she added.

Contact Bonanno at 321-242-3662, cbonanno@floridatoday.com or follow Chris on Twitter @FTChrisBonanno.