Alzheimer's: A Death With No Memory of Life

She was 90. Oh, the stories she must have had. If she could remember them.

It makes me smile when my parents tell me that my grandmother, Betts Lamplugh, didn't make the 3,000 mile trip from Delaware until I arrived. 

It warms me to know I was the motivation that left me such fond memories with her.

Sitting at our dining room table and doing her crossword puzzles. She had all the answers. Or the times we walked up Mary's Peak. She loved that view.  Or the time we stayed at The Oregon House on the coast. It made her so happy. 

She's the only reason I ever watched soap operas. For a few weeks, after she would leave from her visits, I would try to tune in to "Days of our Lives" because those summers I got hooked watching with her. 

Today is the day my grandmother's ashes set sail in the wind.

She was always so gentle. And her hands so soft. I remember rubbing her hands when I was young, amazed how silky they were. 

I remember our visits to her. We walked to Capriotti's sub shop down the street every time we first arrived. 

Her house on Choate Street was so special to her.  I can picture her sitting in the living room listening to the radio. Telling me stories about her being my age in that house.

I thank her for the memories. And all of the outfits she made me growing up. My first years in school are accompanied by many photos of me in her creations.  Frozen in time.

Her body lasted longer than her mind. Alzheimer's took that over a decade ago. 

May she sail as gently as her voice in a breeze as soft as her hands. 

May she rest in peace. 

May she get back all the memories she made in this life to take where ever her next journey leads.

Far away in body but close at heart. I love you grandma.

She died not knowing who we were but she was loved. Very much.

She left behind a daughter, two sons, and the families that extend from them. Her baby sister, age 80, is her last living sibling.

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 "Your dad read [this] at the ceremony and there wasn't a dry eye in the house!" - Russ Lamplugh

 "Until I heard this, I had forgotten how soft her hands were and how beautiful her skin was -- quite a feat for someone who spent as much time in the sun as she did." - Jim Lamplugh 

 "Betts was one sweet, sweet, funny lady." - Lois Olund

"I miss her so much." - Eric Coulter

"She was quite a lady, wasn't she?" - Faith Lamplugh

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In memory of Betts Lamplugh.

GET INVOLVED.

Understand: The Alzheimer's Project 
Donate: Alzheimer's Foundation of America 
Caregiver Help Hotline: Alzheimer's Association