The Purple Ball

The folks from TeeOff by the PGA Tour had the idea that to really capture people’s imagination and make the breadth of Alzheimer’s Disease real to people that I needed to create a ritual.

Because 1/3 of seniors die with Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia I have decided to play Hole number 3 (the third) with a purple ball. (Purple is generally considered Alzheimer’s color.)

Each day I will be playing the ball in honor/memory of someone who has/had Alzheimer’s or dimentia. It may be someone I know, a friend’s family member, someone important to that day’s playing partner or maybe someone famous that we all know of. The disease is all around us and does not discriminate. I hope to show that through this ritual.

As I blog each day, one thing that I will mention is who I am playing for. On day 1 I will be playing for my mother in law, Katie Grunz. Katie died after a 10 year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. She was a remarkable woman who lost her husband when she was in her 50’s. She continued to take great care of her handicapped son and took it upon herself to learn about the stock market. She had no finance background but read voraciously, watched CNBC and made some very shrewd investments. She not only preserved what her husband left her but grew it many times. Warren Buffet would have been proud.

Katie, you are missed and will never be forgotten.