 "Photo: Courtesy of April Brasel")
Whether he wrote, “Good morning” or “I love you,” Mark Greable left a handwritten note for his fiancé, April Brasel, every day. Some days he would even leave her two or three. Usually he would tape them on the bathroom mirror where she was sure to see them.
However, instead of planning her life with Greable, Brasel now mourns the death of her 29-year-old fiancé-to-be who died of cardiac arrest in his Winnetka home.
On Nov. 10, Greable’s heart slipped into an arrhythmia, which caused a short circuit in his brain. His death came unexpectedly. He never had any prior heart condition and aside from the fact that he was recovering from the flu, Greable was healthy.
Greable had been working on his L.L.M. (Masters of Law) at Loyola Law School for more than one year. Though he already had his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University, Greable was attending Loyola to specialize in healthcare law.
Mark’s father Gene Greable said his interest in healthcare law was because of its universal impact.
“He took a real interest in trying to come up with what would be best for everyone,” Gene said. “He wanted to be part of the solution rather than the problem.”
“[Mark] always had something to contribute in class,” said Professor Lawrence Singer, Director of Beazley Institute for Health and Law Policy at Loyola.
According to Singer, Greable was “very, very bright and curious.” He would often attend office hours to further discuss issues and materials after class.
Aside from his studies at Loyola, Greable worked as an attorney in Winnetka and held an externship at the Chicago Regional office of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
One of Greable’s classmates at Loyola, Paula Tironi also recounted how Greable frequently contributed to class discussions. Tironi and Greable took a class on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which according to Tironi, is an extremely complex topic.
“He was excited when things didn’t make sense,” said Tironi. “His hand would shoot up. It was like a little game or puzzle to him.”
Between classes Greable and Tironi would often discuss movies in Nina’s Place, the café in 25 E. Pearson. Tironi said Greable would recommend movies for her son at times before they went on vacation. The movies would be related to the destination they would be visiting and sights they would be seeing.
“We were planning a trip out West and he put together several movies and books about westerns,” said Tironi. “One of them was the movie Grand Canyon.”
Besides his parents, Marilynn and Gene Greable and his sister Jennifer Mackey, Mark is also survived by his fiancé April Brasel. Even though his relationship with Brasel extended for just over half a year, Greable told Brasel that this was the first time he had experienced unconditional love.
“[It is] one of those things that people can say that it’s too soon,” Brasel said of her engagement to Greable. The couple had a wedding date set for Oct. 3, 2010 at the Rookery building on S. LaSalle St. in Chicago’s Financial District.
The two were engaged in August. Brasel said that this summer the couple was able to spend every day together since he was working from home and she was off for the summer from her teaching position at Naperville North High School.
“Our time is documented kind of meticulously,” said Brasel. “He always had a camera in hand.”
Greable enjoyed taking pictures. Up until June of this year when Brasel bought him a digital camera for his birthday, Greable always used a Polaroid.
“With a Polaroid you get one shot. [It is] sort of a different art form,” Brasel said.
Greable’s creative talents went beyond his Polaroid pictures. He also had a passion for writing. While attending New Trier High School, Greable had written two scripts that were optioned by agents in Los Angeles.
One was based on Mark’s experience growing up in Winnetka. The script explored the pressures felt by many children growing up on the North Shore and whether they would be able to live up to the success of their parents.
Greable studied film as an undergraduate at Beloit College in Beloit, Wis. Greable had considered studying film at the University of Southern California, but he and Brasel decided it would be better for him and his family to stay in Chicago. Still, he always continued to share his passion for film.
“[Sometimes] he would leave me a script in the morning,” said Brasel. “[The] thoughts that would come out of his head [were] entertaining and odd — totally bizarre things.”
Written on a whim, one script Greable left Brasel was a suspense in which Brasel woke up one morning to find Mark missing from their bed. In the script Brasel noticed an eyeball in their bed and then a trail leading to the laundry room. Greable left off writing this particular script at that point and told her to read act two to find out what happens next. He never continued this script, Brasel said.
The last six months Greable had spent much time caring for his mother who had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last year. Whether he was taking her to doctor’s appointments, bringing her dinner to the hospital or simply sitting beside her, Greable made sure he was with her as much as possible, especially during her chemotherapy. His mother’s cancer went into full remission one week before Greable died.
Greable was the fourth Loyola student to pass away this semester, all of which were from unrelated causes.
A memorial service was held at the Winnetka Congregational Church on Saturday, Nov. 21.
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