This past June, Gloucester resident Harry Heywood, 59, encountered one of the scariest times of his life, and considers it an act of God that his guardian angel was in the right place at the right time on that fateful day.

A building contractor, Heywood had three job sites waiting for him that day. One customer in particular needed some special attention on his property, so Heywood chose to go to the Ark Road site to get that job completed first.

That morning, Heywood suffered a massive heart attack on the site and would have died if not for the quick actions of another worker at the house.

Joe Whitcomb, a Verizon employee, was servicing phone lines inside and outside at the same residence when he noticed Heywood lying motionless on the ground, according to Gloucester Sheriff Darrell Warren. "Without hesitation, just as we are all trained, Mr. Whitcomb alerted the homeowner to call 911 and immediately initiated CPR," Warren said.

Last Wednesday, Whitcomb was publically recogn...