Berry Tjooitink from Tiendeveen is 60 years old when the first signs of confusion presents itself. He is a school director but is less and less able to handle work. “Only four years later, when he is already retired, my father is diagnosed that he has Lewy Body Dementia. Then the puzzle pieces fell into place,” says daughter Fenneke.
Because Berry’s wife still works and he is sometimes home alone, the children come up with a pastime for him. “On Father’s Day we gave him a donkey and painting stuff. He was a creative man, so he could get started with that.”
But it seems that Berry never touched the painting items. “My mother couldn’t find the paint anymore. She thought I brought it because I also painter in my spare time,” explains Fenneke.
How differently the story unfolds as Berry at the age of 68, four years after the official diagnosis, in December 2024 dies. “When tidying up his room, my mother, behind a cupboard, discovered a sketch from my father. He clearly tried to copy a Picasso.”