Former FOX31 anchor raising awareness after Alzheimer’s claims her mother’s life
DENVER (KDVR) — She spent more than a decade at the FOX31 anchor desk, sharing the stories of Coloradans often struggling through difficult times. But Libby Weaver never expected the struggles her own family would face.
“Alzheimer’s was never even on our radar. Never,” Weaver told FOX31.
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Her mother, Mary Elizabeth Hanigan, died five years ago at age 83 from Alzheimer’s complications.
Over the course of a few short years, Weaver watched her mother go from a vibrant, full-of-life teacher, mother, grandmother and family matriarch to someone who lost the ability to speak, and in the last year of her life, couldn’t even recognize her children.
“I remember the day my sister and I were with her at the doctor, and the doctor told us it was Alzheimer’s. And my mom didn’t even know what Alzheimer’s was. However, after she passed away, and this is what breaks my heart, I found a note she had written. And it said, ‘Can’t find my words. Alzheimer’s?’ It makes me sad that she suffered by herself, knowing something was wrong. But didn’t know who to tell or what to say,” Weaver said. “It’s horrible. I really mean this when I say she was my hero.”
Weaver retired from newscasting at FOX31 in 2012 and is now part of a high-profile Colorado real estate team. And in the years since her mother’s death, Weaver has devoted her time to raising money and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. She emcees their annual Purple Gala alongside Annabel Bowlen, whose father, former Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, died in 2019 from Alzheimer’s complications, and whose mother suffers from it too.
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The next Purple Gala is May 18 at Wings Over the Rockies, and Weaver will be there again, for what may be a very public event. But is also very personal to Weaver and thousands of other Colorado families.
“It’s one of those diseases that no one wants to talk about because of the fear. And I think we just need to put that fear aside,” Weaver said.
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