By Kay Maxwell. A year ago, in November of 2008, Rockwall resident Marilyn Mock (right, next to daughter Alyssa) reached out at a foreclosure auction in Dallas to help a sobbing, heart-broken stranger whose home was being auctioned off. 

In an extraordinary act of kindness, Mock bought the stranger’s home, and later made financial arrangements at her own expense that allowed the stranger to keep her home.  Since that time, Mock has reached out through her newly-formed Foreclosure Angel Foundation to help more than 40 families keep their homes.

Among the many requests for foreclosure help she has received since last November, Mock has found a disturbing number of requests from military veterans. 

“I’ve heard some very sad and sometimes very shameful stories about how our vets have been treated by big mortgage companies and by our federal government.  Somebody needs to help them get through these times and get back on their feet, and that’s what I am trying to do.”

Among those that Mock is trying to help is Sgt. David Holifield, a veteran of six tours of duty in Iraq. 

Prior to his departure for his sixth tour, Sgt. Holifield gave Power of Attorney to his sister so that she could make payments on his home and conduct other business on his behalf while he was way.  His lender, however, a major force in the mortgage industry, declined to acknowledge the POA (on three separate occasions) and also declined to accept funds the sergeant’s sister provided in payment of his loan obligation. 

In March, 2008, the lender filed for foreclosure on Sgt. Holifield’s home.  In a subsequent court-ordered settlement conference, the lender declined to acknowledge the documented mishandling of Sgt. Holifield’s case and reinstate his VA loan.  This sequence of events has been confirmed by a forensic audit conducted by Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) Eva Jo Sparks of Oklahoma.

The Holifield case is now scheduled for jury trial in the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, Sgt. Holifield will not be there for the court proceedings.  He will be on his seventh tour of duty in Iraq.

Mock’s Foreclosure Angel Foundation is also working to resolve the very complicated foreclosure case of Oklahoma residents, John and Jasia Dowd. 

The Dowds are retired Air Force veterans with 40 years of service and 13 completed military assignments between them.  In retirement, the Dowds planned on building their dream home on eight acres of land they bought and settling in to enjoy grandchildren, run a small business, and help others in their community. 

The Dowd’s foreclosure battle began in 2004 following the purchase of residential investment property financed through a well-known lender. The lender mishandled hazard and flood insurance records on the new property, and the mismanagement ultimately led to foreclosure. 

In fighting the foreclosure, the two veterans have been forced to file for bankruptcy to protect their assets, finance their legal battles by selling the property on which their dream home would have been built, and look for employment to make ends meet.  

Their credit record has been ruined because of the foreclosure, and they have lost access to their veteran’s benefits. 

“Their story is egregious,” says CFE Sparks who conducted the forensic audit of their foreclosure experience. 

 And their six-year battle has taken a physical as well as an emotional toll.  John Dowd was recently hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. 

“We thought this would all be over by now,” Ms. Dowd says, “but there is no end in sight.”

Helen Kaslikowski of Connecticut is another casualty of these difficult economic times that is receiving help from the Foreclosure Angel Foundation. 

Ms. Kaslikowski is the widow of World War II veteran, Stanley Kaslikowski.  Paratrooper Kaslikowski took part in the invasion of Salerno, Anzio, and Holland and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.  When he came home, he brought three Purple Hearts, four Battle Stars and shrapnel in his leg that he carried with him the rest of his life. 

His widow, Helen, now 89, is frail and wheel-chair bound but still lives alone in the home they shared.  A reverse mortgage has helped her remain in their home until now, but time is running out on the mortgage and Ms. Kaslikowski’s resources are near exhaustion. 

Veteran’s benefits can provide assistance and allow her to remain in her home, but navigating the sea of paperwork is not easy for the elderly widow even with the help of her attentive and loving daughter who lives in California. 

About the help available from the Foreclosure Angel Foundation, Paratrooper Kaslikowski’s widow exclaimed, “It’s a miracle!”

Assisting the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed on behalf of our county is a special part of the work of the Foreclosure Angel Foundation, said Mock. 

If you would like to help Sgt. Holifield, John and Jasia Dowd, Paratrooper Kaslikowski’s widow, Helen,  or other veterans as they battle to keep their homes, or if you are a veteran with a story similar to theirs, visit http://foreclosureangelfoundation.com/ for more information.

It’s not easy being a hero. In fact, for Rockwall resident Marilyn Mock, it’s been a life-changing endeavor.  Ever since she saved Tracy Orr from losing her home at auction in November, subsequently founding the Foreclosure Angel Foundation, and appearing on dozens of national talk shows and news broadcasts, Mock says her life has taken a 360-degree turn.

Click here to read this Dallas Morning News Neighbors Go story.