Robert, often Bob, DeMarco passed absent just lately – and we have all misplaced a accurate patient chief, a tireless advocate, researcher, and supporter for Alzheimer’s caregivers, a gifted creator, and an inexhaustible speaker.
Bob never sought awards or recognition for his Alzheimer’s work, but his legions of followers manufactured confident his dedication and far-reaching effect ended up recognized. He received numerous WEGO Overall health Awards with his Alzheimer’s Reading Space blog, Facebook website page, and electronic mail group. Purely by phrase of mouth and the electrical power of his exceptional articles, he introduced hope, light and a trove of simple guidance to thousands and thousands.
I am 1 of the luckiest of the hundreds of thousands – Bob lived in my hometown of Delray Seaside, Florida. He moved to Delray Seashore in 2003, leaving behind a powerhouse financial expert services occupation to come to be Alzheimer’s caregiver for his mom Dottie. I met him immediately after Dottie experienced passed, but he was nonetheless fiercely devoted to the Alzheimer’s neighborhood, and I questioned him to have a beer with me.
That initial beer collectively lasted a few several hours. Bob’s relentless curiosity and vitality had been infectious – our very long talks ricocheted from search motor science to Delray politics to Alzheimer’s investigate and scientific trials to his profession in New York. That first time and every time just after, we would converse about Dottie much too how he experienced found so a lot of techniques to realize “Dottie’s World” as he known as it, and to make her lifestyle
with Alzheimer’s not just risk-free but rewarding and content and enjoyment.
Bob handed that knowledge, that irreplaceable enjoy, and hard-received encounter, alongside to anyone struggling with Alzheimer’s and to these of us at Health and fitness Union WEGO who had the prospect to know him personally.
I spoke to him just a working day before he handed, and his only regret was that he hadn’t carried out enough – that if he’d completed extra to combat his cancer, he could have completed much more for us all. We talked about that, and I did the very best I could to inform him that Bob’s Environment truly had built the environment a much better place.
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Bob was a phenomenal Alzheimer’s affected person leader and a collaborative member of (legacy) WEGO Well being. The winner of the 2016 WEGO Well being Awards Most effective In Demonstrate: Website, Bob held webinars and stay activities for affected person leaders to learn from his patient chief experience. You can view a single of his previous webinars below.
