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3.20.2003
Tammy Mattera-Housa, 29; trainer, a mother devoted to two sons
Jaromir Housa remembers the moment his stepson, Nathan, slipped under
the cold, deep waters of a mountain pool in New Hampshire. It was years
ago. They were hiking with Nathan's mother, Tammy Mattera-Housa, when
they came upon a waterfall -- beautiful, Housa recalled, but also dangerous.
When Housa's back was turned, Nathan fell in.
Tammy dove in after her son. "She just ran," her husband said.
"She got into the water and took him out."
It was the kind of person Tammy Mattera-Housa was, her family says.
"If she could help anybody she would," said Tammy's mother,
Diane Mattera.
Tammy, 29, divided her life between two passions: her work as a certified
personal trainer, and her two sons, Nathan, now 9, and Nicholas, 2.
Employed at two Cranston gyms -- Lady of America and Body Language --
Tammy's dream was to open her own gym and design a fitness regimen for
women and girls.
But she also cherished her family. The second-oldest of four siblings,
Tammy had recently moved with her husband and sons into her parents' house
in Warwick.
She shared a crazy sense of humor with her younger sister, Gina. Only
a few weeks ago, during a snowstorm, their mother dared them to run across
the street and back with no shoes or socks -- and wearing only boxer shorts
-- for a dollar each.
Because of her children, Tammy didn't go out very often in the evenings.
When she heard that Great White would be playing at The Station, however,
she decided to go with a friend, Erin Whelan of Coventry. It was a band
she'd always loved. She told her husband she'd be back by midnight.
By that time, her family had already heard of the fire. Jaromir Housa
rushed to the club, only to find it in flames.
Whelan survived. Tammy did not.
"I believe she didn't get out because she was helping," Jaromir
Housa said, through tears. "I know her personality. She was helping."
And then into Housa's mind came the memory of a mountain waterfall, and
he told the story of that other, triumphant rescue.
That day in New Hampshire, he said, when Tammy emerged from the pool,
she was bruised and bleeding. She was holding Nathan. She had saved her
son's life.
"She didn't think once," Jaromir Housa said. "She just
jumped."
-- S.I. Rosenbaum
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