It’s been a long, difficult year for Ruth Koutsombinas, but the generosity of others has helped her through. Widowed when her husband Periclis, better known as "Perry," was killed during the tornado that devastated Gloucester last year, Koutsombinas is gradually recovering. She said she remembers everything from that horrific day.

Perry was in the bedroom watching television when a weather report warned of the approach of severe thunderstorms and lightning, said Koutsombinas. The couple’s daughter, Cora, was at work at Busch Gardens, and their son, Greg, had just left the house to go out with friends on the Peninsula. Perry came into the living room and told his wife to turn off the television, and they sat down at the kitchen table to drink coffee. After a bit, they heard thunder and it became dark outside, so they put a kerosene lantern on the table in case the electricity went off.

Koutsombinas walked over to look out the kitchen window, her little dog Ba...