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Daughter honors the late Jim Green through Alzheimer’s campaign
A longtime regular at the Putnam County Playhouse, Greencastle native Jim Green liked to lose himself in his roles at Hazel Day Longden Theatre – whether onstage or off.
“We spent all summer at the Playhouse,” daughter Alix Welch recalls. “Dad did sound. We did backstage stuff. Mom did lights. It was a whole family affair.”
Perhaps Alix’s favorite memory is from 2011, when she and Jim were cast in “The Music Man” — Jim as Charlie Cowell (“He doesn’t know the territory!”) and Alix as Zaneeta Shinn (the mayor’s older daughter — “Ye gods!”).
“This was the first show that I ever saw, years and years and years before I ever had the opportunity,” Alix said. “When it came, we were so thrilled, especially to get the parts that we wanted. It was great.”
Jim, a 1970 Greencastle High School graduate, kept up his involvement at PCPH up until the September 2018 production, when he ran sound for the comedy “Barefoot in the Park.” Unfortunately, that was about the same time as his initial diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Dad was diagnosed in August of 2018,” Alix recalls, noting that the diagnosis was later modified to include Lewy Body dementia, which many know as a contributing factor to Robin Williams’ 2014 death.
“Everybody knows Alzheimer’s,” Alix said. “Lewy Body is another kind of dementia. It kind of mimics some of the features of Parkinson’s, which is a bad combo.”
Now a little more than a year removed from Jim’s death on May 13, 2023, Alix is sharing her family’s story for a couple of reasons.
One is to let people know that there are resources out there for those with dementia and other long-term illnesses as well as their caregivers. This goes hand in hand with her professional life, in which she works with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield helping patients make such connections.
The second reason is to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association, which she is currently doing through a fundraiser in Jim’s memory for The Longest Day. The campaign takes place around this time each year, leading up to the summer solstice, which falls this year on June 20. The idea is to celebrate the day with the most light by shining light on the darkness of Alzheimer’s.
Alix recalls, as families of many dementia patients can, that everything didn’t hit at once with her dad.
Following the diagnosis, Jim and wife Melissa moved in January 2019 to Greenwood, where Alix lives with husband Joel and their two children, William, 12, and Evelyn, 6. In March of that year, Alix’s family moved in with her parents to help.
“Dad was fine for a while,” she recalled, noting that he would be a little forgetful, doing things like mowing the yard on consecutive days. “As his disease progressed, he developed that shuffling walk that is associated with Parkinson’s. The memory got worse, but never to the point that he forgot who we were, which I’m thankful for.”
Due to COVID-19, Alix began working from home in 2020, giving her the chance to keep an eye on her dad during the day. Her mom took the night shift when she was home from work.
It was a Welch family trip to Disney World in early 2022 that showed both Alix and her mom how much time, effort and energy they were devoting to Jim’s care. For Alix, it was getting a little distance from the situation, while for Melissa it was being the only caregiver for 24 hours a day.
“It became too much,” Alix said.
While long-term care may have been the right choice at that point, Jim’s family wasn’t fully aware of the resources available. Alix wants that to be different for others.
“Most people don’t know that their insurance does more than just insurance now,” she said. “All kinds of things I wasn’t even aware of at the time. I want other people to know that’s an option.”
In her professional work with Medicare and Medicaid recipients, one of her duties is connecting patients and their caregivers with the service and support they require. The group has taken on a new group with Medicaid assisting Hoosier seniors who take part in the Indiana PathWays for Aging program. In serving this vulnerable population, Alix said she is asked some key questions: Why do we do this? Why do we care? What’s your motivation?
“For me, it’s my dad,” she said.
She wants to encourage anyone who might be struggling with a long-term diagnosis such as dementia to reach out to their insurance company — whether it’s Anthem or not — as well as other resources.
“Talk to your insurance company. Talk to the Alzheimer’s Association,” she said. See what resources are available to you.”
On Father’s Day weekend 2022, Jim moved back to his hometown, taking up residence at Autumn Glen, where he flourished for a while
“It was great,” Alix said. “He wasn’t isolated anymore. There were people there for him to talk to and hang out with.”
Jim became president of the resident committee as well as serving on the committee that made food choices and even performing some landscaping.
“He had a great time there,” Alix said. “It was hard, but I think it was the best choice, both for his safety, our sanity and his general wellbeing.”
In March 2023, Jim suffered a fall in which he hit his head. While the concussion “wasn’t horrendous,” he began to go downhill.
“Two months later, to the day, May 13, 2023, he died,” Alix said. “It was comforting to know that it was quick. It wasn’t a drawn-out Alzheimer’s ending. Of course, I would prefer that he did not die, but if it had to end, I’m glad it was quick.”
But she doesn’t want that to be the final act of Jim Green’s story. Alix has previously taken part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Jim’s honor. Now she’s raising money for The Longest Day.
“I was just going to put it on my Facebook for family and friends, but it took off,” she said. “It turned into something larger, which is exciting.”
Anthem has a relationship with the Alzheimer’s Association, so when a co-worker heard that Alix was taking part on a personal level, word began to get around.
“It’s exciting for me to reach out to my work people and share why we do this, why we’re involved, why we raise awareness,” Alix said.
The 2009 GHS grad is also reaching out to her hometown to people who knew Jim. Anyone who wishes to help Alix’s campaign and make a donation in Jim’s memory may do so by visiting her page at https://tinyurl.com/3u8jx5yb.
With these donations, the more than 6 million Americans living with the disease, as well as their more than 11 million caregivers, can receive support on their Alzheimer’s journeys, research can advance toward a future without the disease and lives can be changed.
While on the Alzheimer’s Association website (https://www.alz.org/), those touched by the disease may also enter their zip code to see what sorts of resources for both patients and caregivers are available in their area.
“I hope that anybody – maybe just one person – can find the help they need,” Alix said. “This is a very lonely disease, both for the person suffering and their caregivers. I hope that people can find help.”