Father, Son Hailed As Heroes After Rescuing Woman, 87, From Water In Somers

SOMERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Family members who were devastated after losing a loved one in a drowning suddenly found themselves rushing into a pond to save a stranger recently.

On Wednesday, only CBS2's Brian Conybeare was there as they met the woman they saved.

There were heartfelt hugs and a sigh of relief as 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Lola Margulies met the 15-year-old boy and his father, who helped save her life on Monday evening.

"I will forever be thankful to them," said Margulies, of Somers.

Margulies was feeding bread to the ducks in a pond at the Heritage Hills condo complex in Somers when she slipped and fell into neck-deep water.

"I was panic-stricken," she said.

"I heard my grandmother yell, 'Oh my God, she's in the water!' and I heard screaming," said 15-year-old hero Brendan Cappelli.

Cappelli and his father, Brett, were visiting from upstate. They were having a family barbecue on a deck overlooking the pond.

"Instantly, I ran over jumped over the deck ran across the tree line, got to the water," Brendan said. "She was screaming; crying for help; saying that she was going to die and everything, so I told her to give me her hand."

With the help of another neighbor and first responders, they managed to pull Lola out of the murky water. But what she didn't know at the time was how much saving her meant to the Cappellis.

On June 11, they lost another son. Brett Cappelli Jr., 19, died in a beautiful, but dangerous waterfall in Columbia County.

"Right away, I thought of my son," said Brett Sr. "I mean, I hear a woman screaming, I see her in the water right away, and my thoughts go to my son -- and I just wanted to help her."

Brett Sr. was wearing necklace containing his son's ashes when they saved Margulies.

"I really believe that my son Brett was somehow involved in this – that he's looking over us, that he was looking over the lady, and I think he was basically letting us know that he's OK," Brett Sr. said. "He helped many people in his life and he's helping people now as well."

Margulies believes the family was heaven-sent too.

"I would say they are angels," she said. "I will forever remember them."

Margulies said after the incident, her days of feeding the ducks are over.