More than 60 years after they met and fell in love, John and Alice Blanding are still an item.

As a pontoon boat loaded with other elderly couples slowly circled a small Ottawa County lake below, John leaned over his wife to let her know with a kiss.

Given her advanced state of dementia, it was a declaration of faith that she got the message.

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"Every once in a while she will grab my hand and hold it up to her lips," said Blanding, 80, of Alice, 78.

"We still have that love connection."

So it is with five other couples on an outing organized by Grand Rapids-based Clark Retirement Community. One way or another, each is touched by some form of dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

And as the U.S. population ages, experts expect this affliction to touch more and more families nationwide.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Alzheimer's disease affects more than 5 million Americans.

• The number of Americans with Alzheimer's could more than triple to 16 million by mid-century.

• An estimated one in eight persons aged 65 and older has Alzheimer's disease.

• Research from the National Institute on Aging indicates the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease doubles every five years beyond age 65.

• As our population ages, the disease strikes a greater percentage of Americans. The number of people age 65 and older will more than double between 2000 and 2030 to 70.3 million. Those 85 and older will rise two-fold, to 8.9 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Across the globe, those older than 80 are projected to increase 233 percent between 2008 and 2040, compared to 33 percent in population of all ages.

• In Michigan, the percentage of the population age 65 and older is projected to rise from 12.3 percent in 2000 to 19.5 percent in 2030. In real numbers, that means an increase of more than 850,000 people age 65 and older.

SOURCE: Alzheimer's Foundation of America and U.S. Census Bureau

According to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, Alzheimer's affects more than 5 million Americans. That number is expected to more than triple to 16 million by 2050 for a disease that represents 50 to 70 percent of dementia cases.

"When we do an orientation for 10 people at Clark, three or four have somebody in their family who have the disease," said Chris Simons, dementia services coordinator at Clark.

Just-released figures from the U.S. Census Bureau forecast a similar trend across the globe as populations age. According to the bureau, the "oldest old," those over 80, is projected to rise 233 percent between 2008 and 2040, compared to 33 percent in population of all ages.

Dr. Kevin Foley, director of Saint Mary's Health Care's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Program, said medical research is far from cracking the mystery of this disease.

"It's going to be a marathon," he said. "I'm very concerned about the future, about our capacity to care for everybody who is going to get dementia."

Foley noted there is no cure or sure knowledge of the cause of Alzheimer's. Medications have limited success in delaying its progression.

As a consequence, it can take a crushing toll on those closest to the patient as spouse or children witness the slow disappearance of a loved one.

At Clark, Simons understands all this.

But she decided about two years ago it need not spell the end of romance.

And so, once a month these couples go on a "date" so they can keep that flame alive. They go to movies. Out to eat. They travel to Fifth Third Park for a ball game.

Just three or four hours. But something to look forward to. A chance to sit and hold hands, maybe smooch a little, share the wordless bond they spent a lifetime constructing.

Simons believes these outings also have considerable therapeutic value, increasing self-esteem and giving couples a chance to be, well, couples.

On this sun-splashed day, they are bound by bus for Indian Trails Camp in eastern Ottawa County for a picnic lunch and boat ride.

Dave and Kathy Crawford sit a couple rows back, bantering about who will retain what about this day.

"You won't even remember this day tonight," said Dave, 81, a retired minister and administrator for the United Methodist Church.

Kathy, 79, laughed at his assessment, telling a guest: "You are talking to a man who uses a little black book to tell him what to do every day."

"That's true," Dave said.

But of the two, Kathy Crawford's dementia has progressed furthest.

Her short-term memory is spotty at best, while Dave can still navigate and plan his way through a day. She lives in an assisted-living unit for the memory-impaired at Clark while he maintains an independent apartment on the Clark campus.

As the bus rumbled along, Dave conceded: "I get depressed over Kathy's circumstances, when she can't remember things."

Sitting up front, Don and Ardis Merrill, both 88, have 64 years of marriage between them. They have five children, 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Don recalled their first date, in 1940, at a football homecoming game at what was then Central Michigan College in Mount Pleasant.

"We talked constantly," Don recalled.

Don is beginning to struggle with short-term memory. Ardis has Parkinson's disease along with dementia. She often struggles to communicate.

Looking over at Ardis, Don said: "She knows everything we are saying right now. She knows everything."

Later that day, after a lunch of turkey sandwiches, chips and soda, couples took turns on lazy pontoon rides around the lake.

Because Alice could not easily get aboard, John stayed behind with her on a landing overlooking the lake. He leaned over and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Dave and Kathy Crawford sat on the boat holding hands, Kathy sipping Cherry Coke through a straw. They joked about the tiny dimensions of the lake.

Waiting to board the bus for home, Don leaned over Ardis in her wheelchair and whispered a few words.

She smiled.

Like others on this outing, he has learned to squeeze all he can from the diminishing days left to him and his wife.

"We had a great time. What's not to like?"

John and Alice Blanding moved into Clark in February, after John persuaded officials there he would provide primary responsibility for her care. She had deteriorated for years, to the point where he had trouble looking after her in their Lowell home.

John dedicates his days to Alice. He helps her to the bathroom, fixes her hair, spoon-feeds her meals. He will do so as long as he is able.

He talked fondly of the many decades she played piano and organ at Snow United Methodist Church near Lowell. He looked down at Alice. It was hard to know how much she was taking in.

But all in all, John said, he couldn't complain.

"It is a good day," he said.

E-mail the author of this story: localnews@grpress.com