Lorie & Cliff Tofflemire - Chilliwack Honourees

2025 IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer's 

Lorie, just back from her weekly painting group, is prepared to share her dementia story, her husband having set out a glass of water and note cards to help her. This sense of ease, care and pride is a result of a 55-year relationship, a journey that began on a double date where they weren’t even meant to be paired off!

“Lorie came out the door and I saw her first,” Cliff says. “I said, ‘She’s coming with me.’ She got into the front seat with me, while her friend got into the back seat with my friend.”

“I’ve stayed in the front seat with him from that day until now,” Lorie says.

The pair was married just three months after that first meeting. They have since settled in Chilliwack – raising their two children and reconnecting with a third from a previous relationship – and are now bravely facing the dementia journey together.

In 2021, Lorie started to show changes in her behaviour, particularly surrounding memory loss.

“She started forgetting things, which wasn’t like her,” Cliff says. “She always remembered what I said and did, keeping track of everything.”

After consulting their doctor and undergoing a series of tests and scans, Lorie was diagnosed with vascular dementia. “I was pretty annoyed,” Lorie says. “I cried in the office when they first told me. But then I thought, ‘Well I can’t do much about it now, I might as well find out what we can do from here.’”

That mindset and resilience has grown through Cliff and Lorie’s participation in Alzheimer Society of B.C. support groups.

“The support groups have made me feel even smarter and I realize how ‘with it’ I actually am,” Lorie says. “They help me realize I am still a smart person with worth.”

Cliff has also found support groups helpful, as he draws inspiration from witnessing the dedication of other caregivers. Cliff’s dedication to Lorie, combined with what she calls his endurance, fortitude and perseverance, have helped Lorie stay focused on her artistic practice, which she has honed over 20 years.

For Lorie, the other painters in her life remind her of the members of her support group. “They don’t criticize; they just ask questions about what you think and what you can do to make things better. And they’re out to have a bit of fun at the same time.”

 “She accepts and deals with the journey,” says Cliff. “There are so many people who don’t accept it, but she did.”

Acceptance, Lorie believes, is an important step for people beginning their dementia journey.

“Don’t sit at home and think this is the end for you,” she says. “Get help as soon as you can. Because it’s just the beginning. It’s not the end and you can survive quite well."

Looking at his notes, Cliff laughs.

“She just said exactly what I wrote down,” he says. “Did you copy me?”

Join Lorie and Cliff on Sunday, May 25 for the Chilliwack IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer's.