For nearly seven years, Annie Benn and her family cared for her father, David Roseman, as he lived with Alzheimer’s disease — and through it all, love, humor and connection never left their family. “Caring for him was truly one of the greatest honors of my life,” Annie says.
It wasn’t easy. But even in the hardest moments, something beautiful remained. “Alzheimer’s asks you to grieve someone in pieces while they are still right there in front of you,” Annie shared. “And yet, throughout those years, there was still so much love, humor and connection.”
As her father’s disease progressed, his needs changed — and so did the shape of the Benn family’s daily life. “We never wanted him to feel like a diagnosis or a burden,” Annie says. “He was still my daddy. He still deserved choices, dignity, laughter and the freedom to be himself. Most of all, he deserved to be surrounded by people who loved him exactly where he was.”
Toward the end of David’s life, his care became far more intensive. But Annie says she wouldn’t trade a single day of it. “After a lifetime of my dad being there for me, being able to care for him when he needed me most felt like an incredible privilege.”
Watching Her Mother’s Strength
Annie’s father’s story is inseparable from her mother’s. Married for nearly 50 years, David and Annie’s mother built a life together — one Alzheimer’s could complicate, but never erase.
“I lost my dad to Alzheimer’s, but my mom was slowly losing the person she had chosen to spend her life beside,” Annie says. “She stayed beside him through every version of this disease, even when I know her own heart was breaking. Alzheimer’s changed so much about their life together, but it could never erase the nearly 50 years of love and life they had shared, and it never changed the way she loved him.”
Annie also found unexpected strength in her mother during this time. “We were both losing someone we loved in different ways, but somehow she was still there loving me, supporting me and helping our family through it,” Annie says. “I look at her now with an entirely different understanding of what she endured. I think she was unbelievably brave.”
A Team Effort
Along with her mother, Annie’s husband and son were a part of the care team, too. Her husband, Jordan, became not just her support system, but also one of David’s caregivers, getting Annie through the hardest parts of the journey.
“Toward the end, there were nights when I couldn’t even bring myself to sleep in our bed because I wanted to be as close to my dad as possible,” Annie says. “Jordan understood that, but he also knew when I was completely exhausted and couldn’t keep going. He would step in and take over so I could sleep.”
What Annie appreciates most about Jordan’s role is the dignity he protected. “Even as Alzheimer’s progressed, Jordan allowed him as much freedom and independence as he safely could,” she says. “Sometimes Dad made choices that didn’t make sense to us, but Jordan didn’t automatically correct him or take those choices away. He met my dad where he was. Alzheimer’s had already taken so much from my father. Jordan understood that we didn’t need to take anything more from him than the disease already had.”
Even during the most challenging times, Annie cherished the special relationship that her son, Jude, had with his Papa. Throughout everything, her dad never lost his sense of humor, and Jude especially seemed to understand that.
“Jude never needed his grandfather to be who he had been before Alzheimer’s. He just loved the grandfather who was right there in front of him,” Annie reflects. “He could meet him exactly where he was, laugh with him and appreciate the funny little things that might not have made sense to anyone else. And my dad absolutely adored Jude.”
Finding Comfort in Community — and in What Alzheimer’s Couldn’t Take
Since her father’s passing, Annie has connected with resources from the Alzheimer’s Association, as well as with other families who’ve walked a similar road. She has found unexpected comfort and a way to channel her energy that previously went toward caregiving.
“Learning more about the disease and hearing the stories of other families has brought me a lot of comfort,” Annie says. “It has helped me better understand some of what we experienced, and it has become an important part of how I continue to process losing my dad.”
Looking back, Annie holds onto what mattered most about her father’s final years — not what the disease took, but what it never could.
“When I think about how my dad was cared for at the end of his life, I think about love,” Annie reflects. “My mom’s love for the man she had shared nearly 50 years with, Jordan’s love and respect for my dad, Jude’s uncomplicated love for his Papa, and my own love for my father. Alzheimer’s took so much from us, but it never took that. My dad was surrounded by love all the way to the end, and I think that is one of the greatest gifts we could have given him.”
Walking Forward, Together
This October, Annie and her family will carry that love into the Charlotte Walk to End Alzheimer’s — walking not only in David’s memory, but toward a future where fewer families have to face the road that they have traveled.
Join Annie, her family, and thousands of others at a Walk to End Alzheimer’s event in North Carolina. Register today at alz.org/walk.
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 2026 dates in North Carolina:
| Alamance County | 9/26/26 |
| Asheville | 10/3/26 |
| Charlotte | 10/24/26 |
| Fayetteville | 10/24/26 |
| Gaston/Cleveland/Lincoln | 10/10/26 |
| Guilford County | 10/17/26 |
| Henderson County | 10/3/26 |
| Iredell Co. & Lake Norman | 9/26/26 |
| Jacksonville | 9/26/26 |
| Moore County | 9/19/26 |
| Mount Airy | 9/19/26 |
| New Bern | 10/17/26 |
| Rowan-Cabarrus | 10/3/26 |
| Unifour | 10/24/26 |
| Triangle (Raleigh-Durham) | 10/3/26 |
| Wilmington | 10/31/26 |
| Winston-Salem | 11/7/26 |
Alzheimer's Association North Carolina Blog 