An artwork by her late partner hangs on the wall of Judy Woolstencroft's home, as a reminder of the journey they took after he was diagnosed with dementia.
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At a special ceremony on Saturday, the first of its kind in Canberra, Ms Woolstencroft remembered her partner and the good times they had after he came to terms with his diagnosis of early onset dementia at the age of 56.
Dementia is likely to overtake heart disease as the leading cause of death for Australians, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
More than 350,000 Australians have dementia, including 25,000 people living with younger onset. One-in-10 people aged over 65 and one-in-three people aged over 85 have the disease.
Canberra's first Honour, Celebrate and Respect remembrance ceremony, hosted by Alzheimer's ACT CEO Jan Chorley, was held in Barton.
People living with dementia, their carers, families of those who have died and researchers gathered for the event.
Lighting a candle for those who had died from the disease, Judy Woolstencroft remembered her partner, Chris.
She said coming to terms with the diagnosis was difficult, but once they had accepted it there was still "plenty of light" in their lives. Chris continued to do the things he loved, like travelling and taking train trips.
Ms Woolstencroft said he enjoyed his weekly visit to the National Gallery to take part in the art program for people with dementia.
"We packed so much into those years, I don't know where the energy came from," Ms Woolstencroft said.
"The quality of life during that time surpassed our expectations. Chris used to say he was having the best time of his life, and indeed we were."
One of the most important things for the couple was the people they surrounded themselves with, many of whom they met through Alzheimer's ACT.
Sadly, Chris died in 2014 at the age of 62. He was one of many remembered at Saturday's ceremony, which Alzheimer's ACT plan to continue as an annual event.
