Slain Soldier's Mom Fights To Save Rockland Home From Foreclosure
ROCKLAND (CBS) - A gold star mother in Rockland is fighting to save her home from imminent foreclosure.
"You know, this is the American dream, to own a home," said Maureen O'Haire.
So she and her husband Tom left South Boston and moved into their home 12 years ago. Then, Tom died after a cancer surgery accident in 2005. Their son Walter, a Marine lance corporal, was killed in Iraq in 2007, the year before Maureen lost her mother.
Then, the mortgage company told her she was going to lose her home. She told the mortgage company she wanted to make a deal.
WBZ-TV's Ron Sanders reports.
"I owe you the money. I screwed up. I messed up. I dealt with a lot of depression and I dealt with it differently than some people," said O'Haire, who explained she was not the sole beneficiary of life insurance policies and had loaned large sums of money to other people who have not paid her back.
Maureen, now taking care of her grandson, has three foster children and three adopted ones on top of her four surviving, grown children. Rockland's Veterans Agent Anton Materna has referred her to state officials and Congressman Bill Keating's staff who said they'd try to help.
"She's a good hearted woman from the standpoint she'll help other people. Unfortunately, she's got to learn to take care of herself first," said Materna.
Maureen's front yard, and much of her home, are a tribute to the son she lost and another who served. "I don't want to lose it. That's all I got," she said.
The mortgage company had planned to auction her home Monday but has given her until March 14th to work something out, she added. "You know I'm angry for a lot of reasons. Yeah, my loss is terrible but this is happening to everybody too."
While Maureen has experienced more than her share of sad endings and she hopes for a happy one in her mortgage battle, she says there are people worse off than she is.
WBZ called the attorney representing the company that holds the mortgage on Maureen's home but, by late Monday, he had not returned the call.
