Ken's Story

Ken was born in 1932, one of five children. He left school at 12 with no qualifications and began work as a van delivery boy. When he was 17 to win a bet for ten of his mates Ken beat Albert Quixall (who went on to play for Sheffield Wednesday, Man Utd and England) at keepy ups. Albert went first and kept the ball up 108 times on his head before it dropped to the ground. Ken went second and caught the ball after 109 times meaning his mates had won the bet and the money. It was one of his favourite stories and was told many times over the years. 

As he got older Ken used to lift a room. He was full of fun and great company. He was capable of doing the kindest things to random strangers. Much to the embarrassment of his wife Laura he would regularly stop at bus stops and ask the people there if they wanted a lift in to town rather than have to stand waiting for the bus. ‘There’s room in the back of the car’ he would say ‘may as well use it!’ He was equally capable of embarrassing his 15 year old son by running on the pitch at half time in football matches to try and have a kick around with members of his son’s team. He put his family first, always had time for people and he made people laugh.

In his early 60s Ken clearly wasn't well. He became confused and started to forget things including on a number of occasions where he actually lived. He had to give up driving when after a number of close scrapes he was one day told to turn right at a roundabout and he did, into oncoming traffic. He was retired from work early when his mates could no longer cover up for him. He had worked most of his life doing heavy manual work in a factory servicing the steel industry. But the retirement was something of a blessing because it allowed him to join a local golf club. He was very proud of this because in his eyes the golf club had always been for people who were better than him. Unfortunately he was kicked out of the same golf club within two years as by now he was so confused that he had started hitting other peoples' golf balls sometimes in completely the wrong direction. He was angry, sad and very frustrated. He had a condition known as Alzheimer’s which is often referred to as dementia. This condition very quickly robbed Ken of his dignity and more importantly his pride.

In 2001 Ken's wife died suddenly. Laura had become exhausted from trying to look after him. She had tried to care for him in the family home longer than she should and when she finally agreed for him to go into a Nursing Home she travelled across the city on two buses every day to visit him. Ken became unable to feed or toilet himself and unable to recognise his own son and grandchildren. Ken eventually died in 2009 a mere shell of his former self. His son had said his goodbyes some time before that.

I was and still am very proud of my Dad, Ken and my Mum, Laura. I now want to raise some money to help other families who find themselves in similar situations and I want you to help me.

Thank you for visiting my JustGiving Page in memory of Ken Brook. If you’d like to make a donation to Alzheimer's Society I’d be very grateful, as it will help them lead the fight against dementia to end the distress it causes. Thank you.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.