'I tell Shirley at least 10 or 12 times that I love her. As soon as I tell her she's forgotten.'
This story first aired in March, 2017. We are sharing it again in memory of Shirley Fryer, who passed away in October.
Even though it happened in the 1940s, Stan Fryer still remembers the night he knew he was going to marry Shirley.
"I was the emcee for the YMCA dance on Saturday. We met and we danced all night," he recalled.
"I took her home and I knew that was the girl I was going to marry. She was so loving and easy to get along with. She had a great personality. She melted my heart."
Stan took care of her in their family home for as long as he could, but last year the 90-year-old had to make the decision to move her into a care home.
Fryer visited her there every day. During those visits he talked with her, rubbed her back, and told her he loved her.
"I probably tell Shirley, in an evening, at least 10 or 12 times that I love her. Because as soon as I tell her, she's forgotten," said Fryer during an interview with Now or Never host Trevor Dineen in March, 2017.
He also sang with her because although his wife struggled to remember the names of their four children, when Fryer started the melody to Anne Murray's Could I Have This Dance she remembered every word.
"We've sung the song so many times I think that it has become part of her memory," he said.
"I bought the recording of it and we played it regularly. There's quite a number of different songs that are on the tape but we liked this one particularly ... I think because [it] spoke to us. She is my love for the rest of my life. We feel that it's our song."
When asked what would happen when his wife no longer remembered him Fryer said the answer was simple:
"I'll certainly know her. That's the important thing."
Stan and Shirley's grandson, filmmaker Arun Fryer, made a short documentary film about the couple. Watch it below and click 'listen' to hear Stan's story and advice for a long and loving marriage in the face of Alzheimer's.