title:  97-Year-Old Woman Dies After Being Evicted From Her Lifelong Home (VIDEO)
text: Marie Hatch, a 97-year-old California resident who has been battling an eviction notice since early February, died on March 3.Ms. Hatch made national headlines last month, after a family member, Lisa Krieger, posted her story on gofundme.com. Marie Hatch is my sister s former mother-in-law, and she is 97 years old. She has lived in the same house in Burlingame for 66 years.  As she has no email or tech savvy at 97 years of age, and as her life-long friend, I am starting this fund for her. On Feb. 11, she was served with a 60-day notice to vacate the house or be tossed out by sheriff s deputies. Marie is fighting her second battle with cancer and has no more in her savings account.  The man who is evicting her inherited the house by default from his estranged wife who was murdered.  His wife, her mother AND her grandmother all promised Marie that she could live out her natural life in the house. According to the post, Ms. Hatch worked hard throughout her life, in order to be able to remain in her home. She and her roommate, 85-year-old Georgia Rothrock, paid $900 a month to live in the 2 bedroom house.In February, ABC News interviewed the elderly woman at her California home.During the interview, Ms. Hatch was asked where she would go if she had to leave her home.  I don t know,  she answered, saying,  I don t have the slightest idea where I m gonna go.  She paused for a moment, before telling the interviewer,  That s why I don t sleep good at nights. Watch the brief interview below.The Internet came together to try to help Ms. Hatch stay in her home. The gofundme.com page raised $47,212.People from all across the country made phone calls and wrote letters on behalf of the elderly woman.On March 3, Lisa Krieger informed supporters on gofundme.com of Ms. Hatch s death, writing, I m sorry to have to post this, but Marie passed away earlier this evening. She was unable to fight off the respiratory virus that landed her in the hospital a couple of days ago. She was at home with her son when she died. She has been through a lot since February 11, and her body and spirit were too weak to sustain her. Thank you for all your support. Currently, I m at a loss for words. Thank you. During an interview with Mercury News, the pro bono attorneys representing her said  There is no doubt that the callous eviction of Marie Hatch has caused her death. According to ABC News, the two bedroom home which Ms. Hatch moved into in the 1950s, was valued at more than $1.5 million on today s market.It s a sad commentary on  American values,  that Ms. Hatch spent her last days on earth worrying about being ripped from her home of more than six decades, all because of another person s greed.Sadly, Marie Hatch is not alone.The rising cost of housing has forced many seniors from their homes in recent years.Seniors like Hatch are often forced to rely on a fixed income. As living costs continue to rise across the country, seniors find that their income is stretched beyond its limits. Many are forced to leave lifelong homes, taking up residence in low-income or government subsidized housing in response to rising costs.What s more, between 2007 and 2011, more than 1.5 million older Americans lost their homes to foreclosure. As the New York Times reports here, the highest percentage of those were seniors over the age of 75.Remember the American dream? That was when hard-working Americans were able to buy a home and pay off a mortgage before retirement age.For a growing majority of Americans, that dream will never be a reality. Instead, seniors are more likely to be forced from their homes at or near the end of their lives.That s something we need to change.RIP Marie.Featured image credit: video screen capture from ABC News