Both of my parents had Alzheimer’s and my father had Parkinson’s. My mother had Alzheimer’s for the last eight and a half years of her life. Many people who have it become belligerent and horrible. She did not. Neither did my father. They say that is because it takes away their inhibitions so they say whatever they really think.

I think that my parents, deep down inside didn’t have anything bad. The worst Marjorie said was that someone wasn’t a good person. She never said someone lied, she just said that someone said something and it wasn’t so. The nursing home they were in, they brought their bed from home and they were in the same room together.

Then, when they couldn’t live together anymore, they took the bed back. Another thing they did. Once, my father said that he didn’t like the look of one of the arches, and didn’t want anyone going under. The nursing lady had all of his personnel go around so that he wouldn’t be distressed.

My parents were interested in everything. My father didn’t play golf, but there was a struggling country club in our area, and I joined to help them. They donated to the hospital. They would always help out.

Our family had something that could have been a tragedy, but my parents never made it a tragedy. My brother had Down’s syndrome. Back then, there was no help, no school, nothing. He was just part of the family. Walking down the school, people would stare at you. We had a miscarriage between the two children. Vern cut his finger off with a saw and had to have it sewed back on.