The heartfelt speeches of firsthand stories of caretakers and individuals living with Alzheimer’s. The groups of individuals meeting each other to take pictures, pet a dog outfitted head to tail in purple or walk together along the route. Anyone who has been to a Walk to Alzheimer’s event understands how it brings people from all walks of life together to bond and support each other.
For Verla Martin and her family, it’s also a way of bringing together a family dispersed to different cities, to celebrate and remember the lives of loved ones they hold dear as one team – Mamies Girls.
Verla’s grandmother Mary Ellen, who went by Mamie, had five daughters: Elizabeth Sulc, Hulda Pittman, Heppie Hill, Derial Fletcher, and Jackie Manning. “Born and raised in a small community in North Carolina, their life stories are different and yet, in so many ways, the same. Sadly, one common thread they shared was this disease,” writes Verla on her team fundraiser page.
Eleven years ago, Verla joined a Walk to End Alzheimer’s event for the first time at the encouragement of her coworkers near where she lived in Virginia. It was their way of supporting her as the primary caregiver for her mom, Elizabeth Sulc. At the time, Elizabeth and two of her sisters were still living.
“My mom was diagnosed in 2005 and passed in 2015. My dad had already passed away, and she did okay for several years. By 2009, it became apparent she wasn’t going to be able to stay by herself, and we wanted her to be able to be at home. In 2009, I moved in with her,” said Verla. “She and my dad were married for 60 years. Dad was a WWII vet and was overseas a bit of that time when they first got married. Once he returned, they moved to this house in Virginia, where I still am.”
Although she was in the same house she had been for the majority of her adult life, at one point Elizabeth’s memories of ‘home’ were of her childhood. “My mom fell and broke her toe around 2013 and was in a rehab center for 60 days. Her being away from the house, everything changed,” said Verla. “Up until then, this house was still home. When she returned [from rehab], she looked at me and said, ‘I thought you were taking me home.’ In her mind, home was the one she grew up in in North Carolina.”
“A speech therapist from the rehab center really helped me understand and cope with the disease. She was the one who helped me cope with the fact that it wasn’t about a place per se, but about a point in time,” added Verla. “The house she called home for 60 years became a building. That was really hard. I had moved here so she could be at home. At one point, I asked the therapist if it would help if I took her to North Carolina. She told me I could take her, and she may realize where she is at the moment. But it’s not about that house, it’s about that time.’
Around this same time, Elizabeth started calling Verla by her aunt’s name. “She called me by one of her sisters’ names more than she called me by her own,” said Verla. Just as she learned to cope with her mom’s concept of ‘home,’ Verla came to an understanding of this, too. “She knew I was a constant, even if she didn’t know me for me,” said Verla.
After that first year, Verla and members of her family started walking in North Carolina. “My oldest brother, who has since passed, lived in North Carolina,” said Verla. “My sister and one brother live in in Indiana, and another brother live in Georgia.
Mannie raised her daughters in Pike Road, a small town about 90 minutes from New Bern. In honor of the 10th year of Mamie’s Girls’ walk team, Verla and her siblings made it happen to walk in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s – New Bern walk. “My sister and one of my brothers did a huge push on fundraising, and other family members came to walk – my nephew, his wife, grandchildren. It was really nice.”
Mamie’s Girls didn’t just walk last year, it was the number one fundraising team in New Bern, with more than $10K raised by Walk Day and $12K raised by the end of the year.
“Donations varied,” said Verla. “Some were less than $25 and mostly from friends, family, and colleagues after a simple ask.”
“What I have found in the years that I’ve raised funds for Alzheimer’s research is that you don’t have to go very far to find someone whose life has been touched by the disease. The numbers are out there as to how many Americans are dealing with it – either a family member they’re close to is currently dealing with it, or they have a friend who is dealing with it,” said Verla. “People who know me or knew my mom happily give because it’s impacted them too.”
Verla’s family members also found creative ways to fundraise. “My sister sold dishcloths in a consignment shop and donated her profits. Her son makes soap and created a bar called Memories Matter with proceeds donated to the team,” said Verla. “My brother and I couldn’t catch up to her fundraising. She earned the Champions jacket for raising $5K last year.”
Verla, her siblings, and their families are fierce advocates for raising funds for Alzheimer’s research. “One day it will lead to a cure or at least enough information to lessen the adverse impacts of this disease,” said Verla. “It’s slow and agonizing. It’s the same and yet it’s different.”
“It was amazing to me, being at the New Bern walk last year,” said Verla. “Just looking around the huge crowd at people’s faces as the speakers talked. They were all touched by the disease. It was pretty awesome that so many people were there together to raise funds and awareness so more research can be done.”
Yet Walk season means even more to them than raising funds for research. This year, they will be fundraising individually and then meet together at a beach house. It’s about being together, celebrating the lives of Mamie’s Girls, and redefining ‘home.’
About the author: Sarah Osment
Sarah is a strategic communications professional with more than a decade of experience in media relations, content creation and social media. She’s served on the marketing committee for Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Triangle since 2018.
LIKE VERLA, WE ALL HAVE A REASON TO FIGHT FOR A WORLD WITHOUT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. Join your local Walk to End Alzheimer’s today as an individual, team, or sponsor.
The Alzheimer’s Association hosts 17 walks across North Carolina. The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Since 1989, the Alzheimer’s Association® mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®; now the Alzheimer’s Association is continuing to lead the way with Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s.
Walk to End Alzheimer’s 2025 dates in North Carolina:
| Alamance County | 9/27/25 |
| Asheville | 9/27/25 |
| Charlotte | 10/18/25 |
| Fayetteville | 10/25/25 |
| Gaston/Cleveland/Lincoln | 10/11/25 |
| Guilford County | 10/25/25 |
| Henderson County | 9/27/25 |
| Iredell Co. & Lake Norman | 9/27/25 |
| Jacksonville | 9/27/25 |
| Moore County | 9/13/25 |
| Mount Airy | 9/20/25 |
| New Bern | 10/18/25 |
| Rowan-Cabarrus | 10/4/25 |
| Unifour | 10/25/25 |
| Triangle (Raleigh-Durham) | 10/4/25 |
| Wilmington | 11/1/25 |
| Winston-Salem | 11/16/25 |
Alzheimer's Association North Carolina Blog 
I’m so thankful for “the lady who lives upstairs,” as Mama called her; I call her “my sister.”
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