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My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1998. His grandchildren ranged in age from 19 to 27. They all loved my dad very much. It was hard for all of us to watch him slip away one bit at a time. But, the kids were old enough to understand what was happening.

My granddaughter was born just months after daddy was diagnosed. She only knew him after Alzheimer's began to change him. When she was three my daughter and I went to spend time with my parents. We all wondered how Elly would react to her great-grandfather. She loved him. They established a rapport almost instantly.

We never questioned if she should visit him. We wouldn't have deprived her of knowing her great-grandfather or him of the joy of knowing his great-granddaughter. Daddy was never a threat to anyone. He had always been a loving man and Alzheimer's never changed that.

My dad always loved children. And here was this adorable little girl with her mother's big brown eyes and curly brown hair, he fell in love. He had been a violinist in the Pittsburgh Symphony. I have the cutest pictures of my dad and Elly and dad is showing her how to play the violin. It was his violin so it was a tad big for her but she did her best. Oh, did I mention the violin was worth $150,000?

Daddy didn't care about the price of something. His great-granddaughter was much more important to him. She met my dad when she was a month old. I have the dearest picture of daddy holding Elly. When she started talking she called him PeePa like her mom and uncles did. She took a picture of him to school as her show-and-tell. The picture was of her and daddy dancing but the best thing, according to Elly, was that she had the only "PeePa".

When daddy died, we were all devastated. His loss, though expected, was still very painful. I couldn't imagine a world without my dad. We had a beautiful memorial service. My nephew and his wife had a baby girl 6 weeks old. After the memorial and lunch, we were in my mom's apartment. I was on the phone with my oldest son, who originated the name PeePa, who was in Italy studying architecture. He was bawling and I tried to comfort him but could barely talk because I knew how much pain he was in.

While I was talking to Andrew, Elly held the baby on the couch. She was making cooing noises and talking to Hope. My sister-in-law heard Elly say to Hope, "When you are older, I will tell you about PeePa. I'm sorry you never got to know him. He was very special. I'm sure he loved you."

And she has done that. She has passed on the legacy of her PeePa to her little cousin. She's told her how loving he was and that he let her play his violin. Then Elly said something that astonished most of us. She said, "See, PeePa is right next to you and he's smiling and he's telling me to tell you that he loves you very much." Now, I believe that Elly did see or feel her great-grandfather. I've felt his presence many times. I think it takes a very special person to give his family so much love that even after he has died, those who loved him are never truly without him. His love stays with us.

Learn more about this author, Vicki Brown.
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