“Big John” Mattson loves his Harley. The Tacoma resident has
traveled pretty much every state west of the Mississippi on the
bike.
“It’s a sickness, I suppose,” he said.
Along the way he has collected T-shirts from Harley-Davidson dealerships. Much as he values these souvenirs, he’s giving them away in the form of a quilt to be raffled off, to help his daughter, Holly Mattson of Port Orchard, who was critically injured in a car accident July 26 in Pierce County.
The accident claimed the life of her friend, Douglas W. Simmons III of Fife, who was also originally from South Kitsap.
Virginia Ramsey, the 26-year-old woman whose car hit the couple’s car at an intersection in Milton faces charges of second-degree murder, vehicular assault, attempting to elude a police officer and five other counts.
Holly, now staying with her mother, Patricia Mattson in Port Orchard, is recovering slowly. She is “doing better than she has any right to be doing. She’s doing fine,” her dad said.
“Fine” is a relative term for Holly, who against seemingly
insurmountable odds, survived a torn aorta (a major blood vessel in
her heart) and fractured vertebrae in her neck among other serious
injuries. She wears an eye patch and a neck brace. Just getting
ready for the day is difficult.
Despite that, “She has a great attitude; she’s very positive,” John
Mattson said. “She doesn’t have any hatred or hard feelings about
Virginia Ramsey, who hit her. She just says ‘there’s not room in my
life for that.’ It would be an emotional cancer for her, so she
just doesn’t go there.”
Holly Mattson, who saw Virginia Ramsey at the arraignment, had this to say, “When I saw her at the courthouse, I really just kind of felt sorry for her. She looks like she’s had a hard road and hasn’t had much love in her life. She’s made one bad choice after another that led to this.”
Holly became emotional talking about the ramifications of the accident, especially the fact that Simmons won’t be able to see his two young daughters grow.
Unable to work at this time, Holly faces steep medical bills. She formerly sold a line of licensed Harley-Davidson jewelry. She had been on her way to the airport for a convention when the accident happened. The Las Vegas event would have provided a sizable portion of her annual income.
Among the several fundraisers already held and scheduled for her
benefit, John Mattson has donated his Harley T-shirts, which have
been made into a quilt by Mona Herring. Herring lives south of
Olympia and is a member of Mattson’s HOG (Harley Owners Group).
The quilt is making the rounds of Harley-Davidson stores. It’s not
scheduled to make it to the HD store in Silverdale, but anyone who
wants to buy raffle tickets can contact John Mattson at
imgreystone@yahoo.com for instructions on how to access a PayPal
account. The cost is $5 per ticket or 5 for $20. The drawing will
be in late November. You need not be present to win.
Other Fundraisers for Holly Mattson
Nov. 19: Voltera restaurant in Ballard will hold an auction
featuring a Dale Chihuly painting, a cruise and many other
desirable items. The evening will include signature drinks with
heavy hors d’oeuvres and dancing; 8 p.m. to midnight, 5411 Ballard
Avenue Northwest Seattle, 98107; (206) 789-5100; $60 per person (40
tickets left).
Nov. 20: There will be a benefit concert with the Seattle-based band Absolute Monarchs headlining at Winterland, 1220 Sylvan Way, Bremerton, 98310; $5 cover proceeds will go to Holly; (360) 479-5686.
Holly, who lived in Seattle before the accident, has been blown
away by the fundraisers organized by her friends and family.
“It’s all stemmed from people that are South Kitsap people. It’s
very amazing what that little town has done,” she said. “I’m very
overwhelmed by all the love. It’s very humbling. I don’t know how
people go through something like this without it.”
