Taunton mom Sheenah Savoy and her daughter are alive today because of the heroic actions of George and Rosemary Heath.

George was murdered while saving Sheenah, a then-pregnant waitress, as she was being stabbed in Bertucci’s by a deranged man who went on a violent rampage in Taunton in 2016.

Rosemary put her life on the line that night, too. Rosemary survived, but lost the love of her life.

Now, Rosemary, 53, stands to lose the cherished Taunton home she shared with George. Rosemary said she lost her job last year because of her post-traumatic stress disorder and fell behind on her mortgage payments. She now gets disability, and can afford the payments, but needs $25,000 to reinstate the mortgage and keep her home.

Rosemary and George, Sheenah told me, are her heroes.

“I’m so, so thankful and I love them both so much,” Sheenah said Monday. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

TAUNTON, MA. - NOVEMBER 25: Rosemary Heath, the wife of George Heath, who died in the attack protecting her and a pregnant waitress, is fighting to save her home from foreclosure on November 25, 2019 in Taunton, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

TAUNTON, MA. - NOVEMBER 25: Rosemary Heath, the wife of George Heath, who died in the attack protecting her and a pregnant waitress, is fighting to save her home from foreclosure on November 25, 2019 in Taunton, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

TAUNTON, MA. - NOVEMBER 25: Handout photo of George Heath, who died in a knife attack protecting his wife Rosemary and a pregnant waitress on November 25, 2019 in Taunton, Massachusetts. (MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)



TAUNTON, MA. - NOVEMBER 25: Rosemary Heath, the wife of George Heath, who died in the attack protecting her and a pregnant waitress, is fighting to save her home from foreclosure on November 25, 2019 in Taunton, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

TAUNTON, MA. - NOVEMBER 25: Rosemary Heath, the wife of George Heath, who died in the attack protecting her and a pregnant waitress, is fighting to save her home from foreclosure on November 25, 2019 in Taunton, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

TAUNTON, MA. - NOVEMBER 25: Rosemary Heath, the wife of George Heath, who died in the attack protecting her and a pregnant waitress, is fighting to save her home from foreclosure on November 25, 2019 in Taunton, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)



TAUNTON, MA. - NOVEMBER 25: Rosemary Heath, the wife of George Heath, who died in the attack protecting her and a pregnant waitress, is fighting to save her home from foreclosure on November 25, 2019 in Taunton, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Rosemary’s sister has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money so Rosemary can keep her home. A mortgage company spokesman didn’t return calls.

On the evening of May 10, 2016, Rosemary and George had just ordered beers at Bertucci’s when they heard Sheenah’s screams. The courageous couple jumped into action, getting Sheenah out of harm’s way before going after the knife-wielding attacker, Arthur DaRosa.

George, a 56-year-old teacher, was fatally stabbed by DaRosa, who was then shot dead by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy.

Rosemary was covered in her husband’s blood and held George in her arms on the restaurant’s floor as he took his last breaths. She leaned down and told him, “Honey, it’s OK to go. Don’t worry about me I’ll figure it out. Go find your mom and dad.” Rosemary kissed George’s cheek and he squeezed her hand tight. He later died.

“But I haven’t figured it out,” Rosemary said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “And it’s awful.”

Rosemary and George bought their house together in 2004. They got married in the backyard six years later, exchanging vows under the bright sun. They hosted holiday gatherings and pool parties. Their three dogs and cat live there, too.

“It’s all I have,” said Rosemary, who said she tried as hard as she could to pay the mortgage company back. “I don’t have my husband anymore.”

Rosemary still feels George’s presence, and hears his laughter, throughout the house.

“Every single room in this house has something that brings me to George,” said Rosemary.

There’s the pool table the couple refinished together and the downstairs bedroom that holds George’s superhero memorabilia.

Last week, a friend texted Rosemary a newspaper ad listing a Dec. 27 foreclosure auction for her house. Rosemary was devastated. “It washes everything of George away,” Rosemary said of the thought of losing their house two days after Christmas. “And I can’t do that.”

When George died, his organs couldn’t be donated because he was murdered. So last year, Rosemary donated a kidney to help a woman she’d never met.

Despite helping others so valiantly, it’s hard for Rosemary to ask for help.

“I just need help,” Rosemary said. “I can’t do it, so hopefully the community will help me do it.”

They already are, as kindhearted strangers have been chipping in to help Rosemary keep her beloved home.