Welcome to my virtual luminary page
My grandfather, Ronald Rieder, battled Alzheimer’s for over a decade before his passing in 2020. As a kid, my grandfather was my best friend. We lived about 10 minutes away, so I was over there all the time, literally almost everyday. Whenever I was not there he used to ask my grandma “Where’s Evan?”. Watching him deteriorate over the years from this disease was truly heartbreaking. Over time, the symptoms went from mild where he would forget where he placed his jacket or forget what day it was, to severe where he forgot who his own family was. Shockingly, he never forgot who I was (though towards the end he thought I was his son Jeffrey and not his grandson Evan - my Uncle Jeffrey and I are quite similar).
It is a devastating disease and one that is not only hard on the individual afflicted with it, but especially on the caretakers. My grandmother was an excellent caretaker, but it’s such a taxing job. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. It got to the point where she couldn’t handle it alone, so help needed to be brought in. I distinctly remember something my grandmother told me. She said my grandfather looked her in the eyes and said “Where’s my wife?”. He forgot who his own wife of 60 years was.
Ever since his passing, not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought of him. Something he said, the way he would crack a joke to literally anybody (he had the greatest sense of humor), the countless memories we had together. I’m doing this of course to help out the Alzheimer’s Association (an amazing organization working to raise funds for a disease that is severely underfunded) but also for my grandfather. I hope he is looking down on me and is proud. I love you Poppa!
