Dierker siblings of Upper Arlington honored for efforts in fight against Alzheimer's

Three siblings who grew up in Upper Arlington were honored recently for raising more than $850,000 toward the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

In June 2013 at the age of 51, Bill Dierker of Upper Arlington was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and the disease began stealing his mind in ways that were heartbreaking for his wife, Anne, and their three children: Julie (16 at the time), Molly (13) and Will (12).

Julie, now 25 and in graduate school in Seattle at the University of Washington, remembers "a stark difference" in her father between being diagnosed in the summer before her senior year at Upper Arlington High School and the fall of 2014, when he helped move her into Kenyon College.

"A couple months after that, he stopped driving," Julie said. "Within two and a half years of that, he was already living somewhere else, and the disease had progressed so much that he didn't really remember who we were.

"Within two and a half years, he wasn't talking; he wasn't walking very much anymore."

Eager to help their father and optimistic that a cure could be found, the Dierker siblings established Bill's Buddies for the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Columbus as a 2015 Father's Day gift. The first year, the team raised approximately $52,000, surpassing Julie's goal of $50,000.

Bill's Buddies continued on after Bill died at age 58 in 2018. From 2015 to 2021, it raised $865,500, and on May 12, the siblings were presented with the Alzheimer's Association's Community Impact Award at the central Ohio chapter’s Evening of Impact Gala.

“We are thrilled to recognize Julie, Molly and Will Dierker with our chapter's Community Impact Award," said Vince McGrail, executive director and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association Central Ohio Chapter. "This award recognizes their accomplishments in raising awareness and funds through their Walk to End Alzheimer's team in memory of their father, Bill Dierker.

"In the last seven years, their efforts and collaboration have made an incredible impact on the mission of the Alzheimer's Association as they worked to raise just over $850,000 collectively."

The Alzheimer's Association leads the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection and maximizing quality care and support, according to its website at alz.org.

Life prior to Alzheimer's diagnosis

The siblings said prior to his diagnosis, their father was a kind and generous man with a sarcastic sense of humor, who was devoted to his work as an investment-portfolio adviser but never missed swim meets or other family events.

"A lot of people thought it was pretty funny that when we would be at swim meets, my dad would be doing work in the stands and he'd bring research or stock information that he was currently looking at," Julie said. "So he would be in the stands highlighting while he was simultaneously watching his children. He definitely was always there. He was absolutely kind to everyone."

Their father frequently worked hours at his home office, and the siblings lauded his work ethic and said he was quick to hand out time and monetary support to causes important to friends and coworkers. They believe his hard work professionally was a major influence on them and the success of Bill's Buddies.

Disease's effect on others

Through a Facebook page, the siblings shared stories about their dad and how his diagnosis was affecting them personally. They also recruited Bill's Buddies donors and tried to spread awareness about Alzheimer's through the page and by reaching out to family members and Bill's former coworkers.

"It turned into this wonderful, wonderful thing," said Molly, now 22 and working in attorney development and recruiting for a law firm in Washington, D.C. "It has been the most impactful thing that we ever could imagine. I don't think we would've dealt with my dad's disease in the way we did without it."

Molly added that Alzheimer's took a toll on the family, but the annual Walk to End Alzheimer's and their father, both while still living and after his death, kept them determined to work roughly 20 hours a week, year-round, to raise funds.

"My dad had wonderful friends, coworkers," she said. "We had wonderful extended family, whether they're in Ohio or Chicago. It was definitely a team effort.

"We were really honest about the experience we were going through and being very transparent about who out dad was, what these new experiences looked like. I think for Alzheimer's, it's really beneficial to put a face to the disease. I think a lot of people don't necessarily hear about it until it's hitting their family."

Moving beyond Bill's Buddies

Last year was the final walk for Bill's Buddies.

Will, who is now 21 and set to graduate in June from Santa Clara University with degrees in environmental studies and finance, served as team captain.

His sisters say he was the driver for a campaign that raised approximately $170,000.

"I always knew and thought of my father as one of the smartest people I've ever known," Will said. "I always put him on a pedestal of being this incredibly smart man.

"Then, as Alzheimer's progressed within his mind, simple tasks of taking a shower or opening the door, what normally would be mundane kind of subconscious tasks were ones he struggled with. I think that that is kind of what sticks with me, that such an intelligent mind can be withered away so quickly."

Will said the siblings decided to step away from Bill's Buddies when the Walk to End Alzheimer's takes place Sept. 25 in Columbus, as they all are living outside Ohio and entering new chapters of their lives.

Although the siblings said they'll never stop supporting the Alzheimer's Association and the Walk to End Alzheimer's, Will said they felt they no longer could ask the same family members, friends and coworkers to continue to give.

"Our contact list isn't a list of big-hitters in Columbus or big-hitters in Ohio," he said. "Our contact list is quite literally our Christmas card list. That's what I think just illustrates how we were able to be successful. Not only do we have very, very generous friends and my dad had very generous coworkers, but it goes to show. It's a testament of who my father was."

'Bill is worth it'; 'this cause is worth it'

The siblings continue to stress the team motto, borrowed from what someone said about their father at one of the Walk to End Alzheimer's events, that "Bill is worth it," and they hope others affected by the disease will take the fight as personally as they have.

"My dad was worth it, and this cause is worth it," Molly said. "One day, seeing an end to Alzheimer's is worth all the work that you do every year raising this money and this awareness."

Julie said although Bill's Buddies was "extremely taxing" emotionally and in terms of time spent planning and raising money, "it was a very positive outlet" for her family. She said despite numerous sad experiences caused by Alzheimer's, her father was worth the effort to help in the fight against the disease.

"I think, as a family, we felt like we made a really big difference," Julie said. "I'd like to think that other families will continue to do this.

"I take a lot of solace in the fact that the money we raised is going to help other families in the future that go through this. That pain isn't going to go away, and there will always be missed experiences I'd love to tell (my father) about, but I take solace in knowing that the money we raised is going and prevent that for other people."

Will added that Bill's Buddies and the money he and his sisters raised is something for which he'll always feel pride.

He said team T-shirts that were made each year for the Walk to End Alzheimer's serve as a reminder of the fight that remains to be fought.

"I think looking back, I will not always remember how much money was raised or what the goal was or who showed up," Will said. "I'll remember the T-shirt, and the T-shirt then connects me to a face of someone who was there.

"I'll always remember what happened and what we were able to accomplish. Looking back on the Walk – and all we were able to do and what I was able to learn about the people in the closest circles around me and learn about my father and how my sisters and I operate and how my mom hates to be the center of attention but is really great at being it – looking back at the T-shirts seeing every year we grew and we were able to accomplish something bigger and better I think is something I'll always be proud of and happy to look back on.

"Even though the disease is not happy and not something I always want to look back on, I think the Walk is kind of a saving grace to navigate that."

nellis@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekNate

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Upper Arlington Dierker siblings raised over $850K to fight Alzheimer's