Invisible in life, these Bucks County homeless men are remembered in death

Robert Pope was a mostly happy-go-lucky guy who loved fishing and was forever losing his glasses and prescriptions medications.

For more than 20 years he lived on and off in the homeless encampments of Lower Bucks County.

While he could be a little rowdy when he drank too much, Pope was a natural leader who could defuse tensions in the homeless community.

He once stopped a strange man from getting into a woman’s tent. Another time, he gave a new pair of sneakers to another homeless man who had holes in his shoes.

“He literally took the shoes off his feet,” said Christine Jandovitz, a volunteer with Advocates for the Homeless and Those in Need.

On January 20, Pope picked up a cup of coffee at the Pantry One store off Woodbourne Road in Middletown, then sat down against the building.

Sometime later, a passerby saw him slumped over. He didn’t look right. Police officers tried to revive him, but it was too late. Pope was one month shy of his 55th birthday.

Pope was among the roughly 100 people in Bucks County living in tents, overnight emergency shelters or vehicles in January, according to the county’s most recent point-in-time count.

In one sense, he’s luckier than many in his situation. His family claimed his remains from the county coroner’s office, which cremates unclaimed bodies and stores the ashes.

At least a dozen others in Bucks and Montgomery counties who were homeless in life have remained homeless in death.

How the homeless go unnoticed in death Homeless unsheltered in life, often unclaimed in death

An ordinary kid from Levittown who became a "de facto" leader

Pope grew up in Levittown’s Indian Creek section and graduated from Truman High School in 1986. He and sister, Kelly Pope, were born 18 months apart and always looked out for each other.

The family vacationed on a lake in central Pennsylvania, where Pope had a favorite fishing spot. His solid work ethic came from their father, who died when Kelly was a high school senior.  The death hit her brother hard and likely sparked a downward spiral, his sister said.

The siblings kept in touch after Kelly moved out of state.  She last saw her brother about two years ago for his birthday.  At the time he was living in an apartment with a girlfriend and dealing with health issues.

Her son who had a special bond with his Uncle Rob was there, too.

He was 8 years old when Pope taught him how to cast a line on the same lake where the family plans to scatter his ashes. They practiced until the boy cast his line so far, he fell into the water, Kelly Pope said.

“That is a classic story we like to bring up,” she added.

Pope was among the first people Bucks County Peace Officer Michael Woolley met after he was assigned to patrol  the Lower Bucks County government campus, which includes the Levittown Library and emergency homeless shelter.

It’s a popular gathering spot for the local homeless. Pope helped make introductions for Woolley and others.

“He was the de facto leader,” Woolley said. “He had a lot of information. He was my source.”

Susie Merchant volunteers with Advocates for the Homeless and Those in Need.  She credited Pope with saving a woman’s life after she became sick. He pestered anyone he saw about his concerns until someone listened and took her to the hospital.

Nancy Vogt, another volunteer, took Pope to the ER with frostbite on his feet a week before his death. She took him a cheesesteak after and made him take his refilled medications in front of her, she said.

A few days later Vogt saw Pope riding his bike in Bristol Township. He could feel his toes again, he said.

What will it take to help the homeless Homeless in Bucks County have found an unlikely advocate. Why he cares, and what they say they need now

Another death compounds the loss for those who work with Bucks County's homeless

When police found Pope he had no ID.  A mobile fingerprint scanner gave him his name.

Weeks would pass before outreach workers found out he died. Kelly Pope didn’t learn about it until late February. It was sheer luck, too.

A cousin who volunteers at a church that works with the homeless heard a body was found. Someone thought it might be Pope. In late February the family got confirmation her brother’s remains were at the coroner’s office.

His ashes arrived in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 22, Kelly Pope said. It was the same day as a memorial service at Calvary Full Gospel Church in Falls for Pope and another homeless man named Joe Hocher.

Hocher was found dead in his tent on April 17.  He was 57, and spent most of his adult life in and out of homelessness, those who knew him said.

He recently returned to the woods after spending the winter with Ken Sandy, his fiancé Linda Romberger and her adult son. Sandy was newly homeless when he met Hocher at a shared meal years ago and he invited him to stay at his encampment.

“He taught me how to keep out of trouble on the streets,” he said. “He was like a brother to me. I made a pact with him that I’d keep him safe.”

The life and hard times of Leo Murphy Remembering "Little Leo" a man who lived outside society.

"Just a Beautiful Spirit" Who Lost His Way

About 50 people attended the Cavalry service where Pastor Carlos Zayas told mourners to reflect on the lives of Pope and Hocher, the impact they had on others, and to pray for them.

“May they always be reminded of your love,” Zayas said.

Kelly Pope is reminded of her brother daily. The city where she and her mother now live has a large outdoor homeless population, she said.

“There is not one homeless person I pass that I don’t say a prayer for. I see my brother in every face,” she said. “He was just an all-around good man. Just a beautiful spirit, but he just fought his own demons.”

More stories from the Unclaimed project Unclaimed: In an uncertain time, an overdue farewell for a long lost childhood friend

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County homeless community remembers their own