Holding Onto Hope: The Legacy of James Mark Rippee

Until We Are Reunited

by Catherine Rippee Hanson

My sister and I thought we were strong.

Though burdened with a heavy wrong.

We lost our brother to injury and disease,

Leaving us with bittersweet memories.

We tried to fix it, to make it right.

So much love and hope in sight;

But darkness would not be denied.

And his life…the world would not abide.

Schizophrenia…was his last undoing.

Making his world wild and confusing;

And though we tried to keep him safe,

He turned away, lost in life’s dark maze.

Homelessness was his final fate.

The streets…his home; there’s no debate.

Our hearts were broken, tears were shed.

Before the end when he was dead.

Our brother’s death is sad and tragic.

A simple illness, but too late for magic.

His soul departed from this world.

Leaving us unraveled, thoughts unfurled.

We grieved in sadness; we kept some hope.

Remembering our brother, trying to cope.

We clung to hope, as a beacon of light;

In honor of our brother, each day and night.

He had a life of love and a life of pain.

The bravery of his journey we’ll sustain.

From his shining light, we’ll never be apart.

For he will always be with us in our hearts.

We will keep on honoring him and his memory.

Until we are all reunited in eternity.

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In the years since the passing of our brother, James Mark Rippee, in November of 2022, not a day has passed that we have not felt the ripples of his story. His life was marked by unimaginable struggle, fierce resilience, and the heartbreaking limitations of a broken system. Mark lived more than half his life blind, physically disabled, and battling schizoaffective disorder…while unhoused on the streets of Vacaville, California for 16 years of his life. His journey was not defined by weakness, but by the strength it took to survive in a world that often looked away. As a result of his story, we are reminded that hope requires more than sentiment; it requires action.

In the years since his death, our advocacy hasn’t dimmed – it has evolved. Not just as family, but also as witnesses to the void Mark left and the voices still unheard, we speak with greater urgency. Through platforms like Hope for Troubled Minds, we honor him not only in memory but also in action and our Facebook group, Mark’s Legacy: Embracing Change, we push for better mental health policies and laws, compassionate housing that heals, and the dignity everyone deserves. We learned from Mark that suffering in silence is not a choice… it’s a consequence. And as long as we have breath, we will shout on his behalf.

We hold his name like breath in spring,

A brother lost, yet everything.

His stories folded into ours so deep,

Where silence breaks, we learn to speak.

No monument… just memory’s grace,

He still walks beside us, as change, we face.

Catherine J Rippee-Hanson