Recently married homeless couple separated by death

Mark Neville and Nan Schrack had been together for 14 years, the last five on the streets, homeless and out of work for most of that time.

With Schrack struggling from a brain aneurysm and emphysema, Neville found it difficult to care for her in the harsh, outside environment. To get an apartment with state assistance, though, they had to be married.

So, despite their homeless status, the couple wed on March 10 under a flowery arch outside First Presbyterian Church of Brandon surrounded by friends who'd trekked there on bicycles, carrying their backpacks filled with few possessions.

But the couple's happiness would be short-lived.

Neville died Thursday, just weeks after learning he had a terminal illness. They had yet to find an apartment together, a move that would have gotten them out of the weather and into a healthier environment.

Neville began showing signs of serious illness quickly, said Lela Liliquist, a homeless advocate who runs the soup kitchen and resource center, Portamento of Hope, on Mason Street.

Liliquist, who picked the couple up daily to bring them to her café for lunch, said Neville was in the hospital for about a week, released for a couple of days, then back in again, where he became unconscious about five days ago. He died about 3 p.m. Thursday. He was 58 years old.

"It's a shame they never made it into an apartment," Liliquist said. Jim McNeill, a homeless advocate for the Presbyterian church had been working to find them a place.

Nan Neville said she believes her loss was at God's calling. "It was just his time, I guess."
She said she spoke with her husband daily during his hospital stay. He was unable to respond. "But I know he knew I was there and he heard my voice."

Neville, originally from San Diego, had lived in Florida for many years, working most of the time as an air conditioning mechanic. He had no living family, except for his wife and his stepdaughter, Krystal Schrack, of Tampa.

Nan Neville said she is working to plan a memorial service for her husband. Meanwhile, she said, she is staying at a friend's apartment and if need be, she has an invitation to go live with her daughter in Tampa. "Any way I look at it right now, I'll be off the streets."