“>20 year-old Jeanne Malott took a train from her hometown in Michigan to Los Angeles, California. She loved the palm trees, the sunshine–the shiny promise of life in California. Before long, she met and married the handsome systems engineer Milt Peterson and became the mother of four children.
“>When the kids were older, she used her exceptional secretarial skills and the experience of managing a large family to land a job as the scheduling secretary for Congressman Glenn Anderson. She and Milt eventually retired out to Victorville where, at the age of 59, she registered for her first college course. It didn’t faze her to sit in a room full of 19-year-olds, and she went on to receive her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude; eventually she received a Master’s Degree in English Composition. She taught college English for six years, before the early signs of Alzheimer’s really began to affect her.
“>Our mother remained beautiful and graceful to the end, but this insidious disease took her from us little by little. It became difficult to look at the woman we were caring for and remember the woman she was.The dream of a cure begins to feel more like a responsibility to help the thousands of others whose lives will disappear in slow motion as Jeanne’s did.
