When Joan Tweedlie was diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment in 2012, it didn’t change the way her husband, George, thought about their relationship.

“I hope my family sees our marriage as a guideline to happiness,” George says. “Our lives have been filled with luck and love – including how we first met. It’s a storyline for a movie.”

George and Joan first crossed paths at her 21st birthday party back home in Scotland in 1960, a celebration he wasn’t originally invited to.

Joan Tweedlie (front row, on the left) and her family at the Plaza Ballroom (Glasgow, Scotland)
celebrating her 21st birthday on 12th of June 1960, the day she first met George.

“Joan had recently broken up with her boyfriend,” George says. “So here she was, with this big coming-of-age party and no one to escort her!” One of Joan’s best friends happened to be George’s cousin and suggested he come along. One year later, George proposed. A year after that, they were married.

George and Joan on their wedding day.

Their marriage blossomed with four children and by 1974 they were moving to Canada for work. They settled in Richmond – where they’ve remained to this day. In the years since, their family has grown to include nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, with another on the way. They have built strong friendships through their church, soccer and dance communities. But then things began to change.

George and Joan (front row, left) with their extended family on their way to
Cabo to celebrate their 50th anniversary in June 2012.

“I noticed at least two years before her official diagnosis that things were becoming more and more difficult,” George says. “We were on a long drive and Joan told me a story and then she told it to me again immediately afterward. And then a third time. She told me that story 15 times on that trip.”

While Joan was aware of the changes she was experiencing and received a diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment quite quickly, she never really fully accepted the reality of the disease. Ultimately, managing her symptoms became difficult enough for the family that she moved into long-term care in 2019 at Rosewood Manor. George has found help working through these challenges by participating in one of the Alzheimer Society of B.C.’s support groups for caregivers.

“Some of the topics make me look a little deeper into the way I feel,” he says. “Before, I wouldn’t have considered myself a caring, compassionate person, but I think this journey has changed me.”

George brings that care and compassion to his daily visits with Joan. He’s built her a garden, helps with personal care and leads music programs – playing the piano and creating special playlists for different residents and events. They’ve built a new community with the other families at the care home.

He plays love songs for Joan during their one-on-one time, saying he feels privileged to walk alongside her, both figuratively and literally.

“When Joan first moved into long-term care, we would walk up and down the corridors holding hands,” he says. “One of the staff pulled me aside and said that what she saw in us was true love. And I’ll never forget that.”