We’ve all heard of The Notebook, a novel by Nicholas Sparks—which was made into a film—where a man reads to his wife to ‘rekindle’ her memory, as she suffers from dementia.
But we never thought it was ever real—till today.
Reminiscent of the romantic drama: 91-year-old Jack Potter visits Phyllis, his 93-year-old dementia-suffering wife, everyday at her care home in Rochester, Kent, England—to tell her tales from their courting days, holidays and marriage, and show her photographs, in a bid to keep her memory alive.
According to Daily Mail Online, Mr Potter has kept a diary since he met his wife in October 1941—they met at a wartime dance and instantly fell in love, and got married in 1943.
For 70 years, he has jotted things down in his diary—from fond memories and their life together, to the little things that bring it home.
Even till today, Mr Potter writes down things to tell his wife when he visits her—to remind her of their relationship.
“I remember it like it was yesterday the first time I met her—she came up to me and asked me to dance,” Mr Potter told Daily Mail Online. “She was an excellent dance partner and an older woman—I thought she was wonderful and I still do.”
“It was definitely love at first sight, everything fell into place. It was uncanny really.”
That night they met, Mr Potter went back to his barracks—then, he was serving as a Royal Engineer—to record the night he met his wife-to-be: “Very nice evening. Danced with very nice girl. Hope I meet her again.”
He said: “I remember going home and scribbling down that I had met her in my diary, it sticks in my mind because I suppose it was a life-changing moment.”
Mr Potter also added that he writes all their stories and in-jokes.
“We have been together ever since… We have been together forever, we had no children it was just us two… Phyllis struggles to speak and I will often read to her and chat to her but she struggles to respond,” he said.
“I often take the diaries of our time caravanning and show her the pictures, she enjoys that. Whenever I turn up to see her she stretches her arms out to hug me—she is very affectionate—despite being so unwell.”
Two weekends ago, Jack and Phyllis Potter celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
[via Daily Mail Online]