Real-Life Story of The Notebook

Ninety-one year old Jack Potter reads 75 years of personal diaries to his wife on a daily basis.   His wife Phyllis, 93, has dementia  and was moved in 2007  to a nursing home near the home they shared for 5o years.   Jack has visited his wife every day and reads to her from the diaries he's been writing since he received his first one from his father for Christmas in1938.

"Phyllis means everything to Jack," Susan Oates, home manager at Copper Beeches, part of Four Seasons Health Care, told ABCNews.com. "He says there was no boss in their relationship, everything was equal."
Potter says his wife was aware that he kept detailed diaries throughout their marriage, but "didn't pay particular interest" to his habit. Now the diaries serve as a remaining tie between the pair.
"When Jack visits Phyllis he either talks to her about their long life together or remembers particular holidays with the help of the diaries," said Oates. "Phyllis still recognizes Jack despite the dementia. She pats his leg when he reads to her and often smiles."
"Phyllis is very affectionate toward Jack and reaches out her arms to hug him when he arrives and kisses his hand when he leaves," she said.

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