A Long Island mother was overwhelmed with emotion during a recent Islanders game when the team, in collaboration with Tunnel To Towers, announced they had paid off her mortgage and would cover her twins’ college tuition.
Hope McHale, 57, from Manhasset, expressed to The Post, “The mortgage alone is life-changing.”
“I mean, there are no words for the college thing. There’s so much pressure off,” she added.
McHale’s husband, Fire Marshal Martin “Woody” McHale, passed away on Christmas Eve in 2012 following a heart attack while driving home, resulting in a crash into a neighbor’s house just after his shift.
Woody was a responder during 9/11, helping at the Ground Zero morgue. He died when their twin boys, Matthew and Ryan, were still quite young, barely 4 years old.
“Woody and I struggled to have children, and we had them later in life,” McHale, now a single mother, reflected.
“They were his greatest treasures, and their birth was his proudest moment. He was so happy to be a dad and a wonderful one at that.”
After her husband’s passing, McHale and the twins relocated from Bayside, Queens, to Long Island in 2014, which was Woody’s last wish.
“This is where he wanted to raise our family,” said McHale, who works in sales for Ralph Lauren.
During the Islanders’ game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 10, Woody was honored in a touching tribute as his image lit up the Jumbotron at UBS Arena, met with applause from thousands in attendance.
McHale and her sons experienced the night as special guests, enjoying the owner’s suite alongside team co-owner Jon Ledecky, who was visibly moved to assist the family.
“Here’s someone navigating life, and now they get this huge help,” Ledecky remarked to The Post. “It’s quite remarkable to see her raise these two kids alone. They’re fantastic kids who are bound for great things.”
Matthew has already been accepted to the esteemed Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, while Ryan is interested in Fairfield University in Connecticut; Ledecky is eager to lend his support there as well.
Additionally, the Islanders raised $34,000 through 50-50 raffle ticket sales for Tunnel to Towers that evening.
“I felt like it was a hat trick,” Ledecky said, alluding to the outpouring of goodwill.
