A fortuitous email

This Sunday, Amédée Levesque would have been celebrating Father’s Day. Sadly though, he passed away in 2014, after four years of living with dementia. His family holds Amédée in their hearts, and they showed it this year with a Mother’s Day celebration at the Walk for Dementia. They walked as a team – Amédée’s daughter Sylvie, his son-in-law Vince, his grandson Daniel, and the person who organized it all, his granddaughter Sarah Rimbach.

Every time there is a major fundraising event like the Walk for Dementia, a barrage of email invitations goes out to local politicians. Most are too busy to attend every event, and so most charities feel lucky if one or two are able to make an appearance. Such was the case with Nathalie Des Rosiers, the MPP from Ottawa-Vanier who had to decline the invitation this year. But The Dementia Society got something even better than an appearance by an MPP!

When that email arrived at the office, before it got to MPP Des Rosiers, it had to go through her assistant Sarah. And while Ms. Desrosiers was unable to make room in her schedule for the event, Sarah signed up immediately. She realized it would be a meaningful way to honour her grandfather, and a nice way to bring the family out to spend a Mother’s Day weekend with her mom Sylvie.

The weather was lovely for the walk, and Sarah says she and her family had a great time, participating in all the activities available at Tunney’s Pasture before returning home for a brunch celebrating Mom. No doubt they talked a lot about Amédée – the camping trips up in Collingwood, the very early-morning wake-ups that are the calling card of every good Canadian grandfather, and the disease that made those last few years so very difficult.

It’s always sad to lose a loved one, but they remain in the hearts of those closest to them. Because of this, their memory goes on providing comfort and strength to the people they loved throughout their lives. Sarah Rimbach proved this to be the case In gathering her family, in raising money for a cause, in walking for dementia and walking for Amédée Levesque.

If you'd like to make a donation to the Father's Day campaign for people with dementia and their caregivers, click this link. We are hoping to raise $11,000 so we can provide an art program for people with dementia and their care partners, starting at the end of this summer!