MINNESOTA, USA — Denise and Butch Tendle have been to more countries than they can count.
They've been married for 43 years and have made it a priority to travel the globe with their family. But their current journey isn't something they could have ever made an itinerary for.
In 2016, Butch was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. When the couple got the news, Denise was taking care of her father, who was struggling with Alzheimer's.
"I couldn't believe it," she recalled. "I couldn't believe it."
Her father passed away in 2020, and eventually Butch developed Alzheimer's.
"I'm losing pieces of my best friend every day," said Denise. "Everything has changed."
Denise describes good and bad days with her husband. He's still incredibly sweet and funny, but there are times when she says their conversation doesn't make much sense.
She says there is often a misunderstanding surrounding Alzheimer's or other dementia that she is reminded of when talking to friends.
"I'll recount a story and they say, 'Oh, well, that's not like him,'" she said. "And they don't really understand that his brain is changing. And there's good days of clarity and a little bit more normalcy. And then there's other days that are harder for him and for me."
She says even if a day starts off as bad, that always changes during choir practice with her husband.
For the past year, the two have been part of Giving Voice Chorus, a nonprofit organization created for people living with Alzheimer's or other dementias and their care partners.
"We've got this program that allows people to sing and I love music," said Butch. "I sing with all these other people. And they would help me and I would help them."
On Tuesday, five of the Twin Cities choirs gathered in Edina for their last practice before they move rehearsals to Orchestra Hall. June 9 will be their biggest performance yet, taking the nonprofit's 10-year celebration to that big stage.
"Giving Voice is about creating choirs across the country to celebrate what’s possible while living with dementia and Alzheimer's," said executive director Eyleen Braaten.
During rehearsals, Butch sits next to Eileen Cardwell, who has been volunteering for the past eight years.
"I've had the privilege to watch Butch up close," she said. "It is the same miracle I've seen with other singers. He laughs. He jokes. We tease each other sometimes, and he just loves to sing."
She sometimes thinks about what it would be like to sing with her husband in the chorus. He died a few years before she started volunteering.
"He was the love of my life," she said. Someone very easy to like. Extremely gregarious. People just sought him out cuz everybody that knew Dennis loved him."
Even before her husband was diagnosed, she saw the impacts of music on people living with Alzheimer's. Her mother had a similar diagnosis and lit up when she sang and played piano.
"The experience here is absolutely transformational," she said.
Denise said this voyage she is taking with Butch was never something she anticipated, but just like all of their other travels, they will do it together.
Ticket proceeds will go toward Giving Voice. The concert at Orchestra Hall is on June 9 at 2 p.m.
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