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Her fortune is back where it belongs

A Dade City woman sues her former friend and caretaker to control funds she said the woman siphoned.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published August 22, 2006

	[Times photo: Janel Schroeder-Norton]
	Euphemia Rowland, 101, sits in her cousin's Dade City home Monday before heading to the county courthouse for a hearing on her lawsuit against former friend and caretaker Betty Shye, 74. After Rowland and Shye's friendship fell apart, Rowland tried to take back Shye's power of attorney, which Shye woulddn't give up. Rowland took the other woman to court to regain money that she said Shye stole from her nest egg of $700,000. A circuit judge sided with Rowland.

DADE CITY - For all of her adult life, Euphemia Rowland taught school and saved money.

She and her husband, a principal, never had children of their own. They lived frugally in a big house they built on Powerline Road and even on educators' salaries amassed a small fortune.

He died in 1966. Rowland kept what she had close, giving handpicked fruit or secondhand clothes as Christmas gifts and always expecting loans to be paid back. By the time she met Betty Shye at church in 1994, she had about $700,000 in the bank.

* * *

After several years of friendship, Rowland gave Shye some control over her money and affairs, making her a joint holder on her bank accounts and a beneficiary in her will.

But a bitter dispute arose when Rowland, who is a few months shy of 102, came to question Shye's friendship and revoked that power.

Shye refused to give up control. She insisted that she was honoring her friend's true wishes. She also refused to give any money back.

By the time Rowland filed a lawsuit, more than $75,000 was gone. The rest was held up in frozen accounts.

Rowland, her cousin and other associates said the financial arrangement with Shye was only for convenience and that she never intended to give it all away.

On Monday, a judge sided with Rowland.

"I find clear and convincing evidence that there were no gifts made to Mrs. Shye by Mrs. Rowland of any of the money in the accounts," Circuit Judge Wayne Cobb said in his ruling.

He said Shye violated her fiduciary responsibilities by taking money from the joint accounts and depositing it in her own name.

In addition to relinquishing her claim on the $700,000 in joint accounts, Cobb said, Shye must pay back what has disappeared, plus attorneys fees and costs for both sides.

Rowland's attorney said Shye set up CDs for her own children with Rowland's money and continued withdrawing funds long after she knew she no longer had power of attorney.

"This is a case about her trying to get something that wasn't hers," St. Petersburg attorney David Sockol said.

* * *

Shye, 74, still calls Rowland "my friend." She used to help her with her affairs and take her on errands.

The friendship disintegrated after Rowland fell in her home in 2003 and ended up in a nursing home. Rowland likened her 14-month stay to being in prison. Shye refused to get her out.

Eventually, Rowland's cousin Henry Wickett and friend Bobby Overstreet removed her. Shye called it kidnapping and even contacted the police about it.

The women haven't spoken since.

During the trial, Shye said she wanted only to protect her friend. She said Wickett and Overstreet are the ones taking advantage of the fragile, elderly woman, who stands barely 5 feet tall.

"I know my friend's wishes," Shye testified, "and her wishes would not have been to remove my name."

Neither Shye nor her attorney, Kara Hardin, commented after the ruling Monday.

* * *

Rowland has lived with Wickett since leaving the nursing home 2½ years ago. Her bedroom wall holds a plaque commemorating 68 years as a Sunday school teacher at the First Baptist Church of Dade City.

She can't see or hear well but still has a sharp wit and clear voice. She talks fervently about her faith and can spell any word on demand.

Though she could barely hear the arguments during Monday's hearing, she frequently tapped her attorney on the arm and asked if she could speak.

Afterward, when Wickett leaned in close to tell her that she would get all of her money back, she rejoiced.

"Praise God," she said. "That's the way it should be."

[Last modified August 21, 2006, 22:55:38]