story of nepali women

Marie Hatch, the 97-year-old Burlingame woman whose fight against being evicted from her home of 66 years drew international attention, died Thursday evening.

Ms. Hatch apparently died of natural causes after suffering from a severe cold for more than a week, family friends said. She had been hospitalized and Thursday evening returned home, where she succumbed.

“It’s so sad — we will miss Marie,” said Cheryl Graczewski, who lived next door and had been advocating for Ms. Hatch since she first received word in December from her landlord that she had to vacate the house.

“She was a real sweetheart. There was a lot of spirit in that woman.”

Joe Cotchett, the powerhouse lawyer who — after The Chronicle broke the story last month — took up Ms. Hatch’s fight with a lawsuit, said her case was “the tip of the iceberg as to how senior citizens are being treated in the Bay Area in terms of being put out on the sidewalk.”