Recently widowed Marine vet on verge of losing home due to hole in the roof

Recently widowed Marine veteran could lose his house due to roof damage

Due to a large hole in the roof, the city said he could no longer live there. In the span of the last year, Bob has lost his wife and is in danger of losing his home.

MONROE, Mich. (FOX 2) - For more than 15 years, Bob Origel and his wife called their residence in Monroe home.

But thanks to a large hole in the roof, the city said he could no longer live there. In the span of the last year, Bob has lost his wife and is in danger of losing his home.

"I was ready to give up. first," he said. "First my wife passed, then they came up with this."

Sometimes it’s the moments when we’ve hit rock bottom that we meet the people there to pick us up.

When FOX 2 met Bob Origel he was emotionally overwhelmed by the kindness of neighbors he’s met in the past year.

"I couldn’t do anything like what he’s doing for me," he said. "I don’t know how he came up with the idea, but thank God he did."

FOX 2: "I know you said you lost your wife, but it seems like you’ve gained some friends too?"

"Oh yeah, a lot of them - some I don’t even know," he said.

Now, a group of his new friends are trying to help Bob salvage his home. He says several years back his roof started to fall apart.

Recently, when city inspectors checked on a tree, which crushed his garage, they noticed the gaping hole on the house.

The city posted the notice to move out by Sunday. That got the attention of Jason Lawnichak who lives across the street from the Marine veteran.

"He served for us - why aren’t we serving him?" he said. "I think that’s the bottom line in everybody’s head right now — a man in need who served our country who’s had a rough last couple of years."

Jason says he made a social media post, which quickly got support from the community.

"Now I’m getting messages from people like Sunbelt Rentals wanting to supply equipment for the job, the dumpster people that want to supply dumpsters for here," he said.

"I guess that’s the main thing we need is a structural engineer to come in and see if there’s anything that’s salvageable," Bob said. "I want my home. My wife and I had plenty of good times here."

Neighbors will meet Sunday at Winchester and East 4th to talk about future support for Bob.

In a statement, the City of Monroe said: "The City has been in contact with local community organizations, non-profits, and social services agencies to provide the appropriate resources and a temporary housing solution in addition to long term options."

Bob and Jason say they need a structural engineer to get this process going and would like to meet one by Sunday.

Meanwhile, Bob has a meeting with the city on September 28th. in Monroe.

UPDATE (8.23): A GoFundMe account has been established to help the effort to repair the roof. Go HERE to learn more.