Dementia is a mental disorder that affects one’s memory. It can be a debilitating one and can affect not only the person who suffers from it: it also affects even the sufferer’s family. Personality changes, memory loss and impaired reasoning are only a few symptoms a person with dementia suffers from. However, a woman from Colorado who suffers from dementia still has one memory intact: her husband.
June and Elmer Melchi have been married since 1945. June’s love for Elmer was so enduring, that not even a memory disorder made her forget her husband. Even though they were in separate care facilities, June knew Elmer by heart. And when Elmer asked to be with June during his last days as he suffered from cancer, June serenaded him with the song “You are My Sunshine”. It was truly touching.
Unbelievable, they lit up with singing songs together.
Just a week after the couple were together, Elmer passed away at the age of 92.
Watch June serenade her husband Elmer here:
The gloomy history of the song, “You are my sunshine”
The song “You are my sunshine” was originally a country song recorded by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell. It was first recorded in 1939 and was declared as one of the state songs of Louisiana. Davis, who was a popular country singer at that time, was also a former governor of the state, and sang the song during most of his campaign.
Although Davis made the sunny song popular, it’s history is actually a murky one. There were two versions that were released prior to Davis’ 1940 recorded version. It was first recorded by Bluebird records by the Pine Ridge Boys who were from Atlanta, and by the Rice Brothers Gang in 1939. History books actually credit Paul Rice as the owner of the song who eventually sold the copyright to Davis and Mitchell. However, the children of songwriter and mandolin player Oliver Hood from Georgia claim that their father wrote the song in 1933 in a brown paper bag and performed it at a VFW convention in LaGrange, Georgia. Unfortunately, Hood never copyrighted the song.