With A Ukulele And Simple Songs, Katherine Campbell Helps People With Dementia Unlock The Past

PALM DESERT, CA — Katherine Campbell is joy incarnate.

The 72-year-old Palm Springs woman is a regular at memory care units across the Coachella Valley, where she unpacks her ukulele and sings songs from the soundtracks of their childhoods, their courtships and their lives.

“We sing, play tambourines, clap and are present with each other,” Campbell told Patch of her “These Joints are Jumping” program, which she takes to memory care units across the Coachella Valley. Her contracts supplement Social Security, but more gratifying than the income is the “sheer joy.”

“More joy than I am able to describe,” she said.

It may seem an unlikely vocation for a woman who, decades ago as a high school student, couldn’t stand in front of her class and give a book report.

“Here’s the trick,” she said. “Toastmasters.”

Campbell joined Toastmasters, which helps people improve their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills, when she was 38. Her sales and marketing job in Philadelphia demanded that she overcome her fear.

“It was so nerve-racking, I had to get rid of this fear. That’s what changed my life,” she said.

Campbell has been working with older adults for about 25 years. She was living in Florida when she became a certified trainer and teacher for Ageless Grace, an exercise program set to music.

“I had never played music or sang, except to the radio, until I was in my 60s,” she said. “Then I joined a community choir, and then I heard a ukulele jam, and decided to go buy a ukulele.”

Campbell is starting her fourth semester at the College of the Desert, where she takes voice lessons and other courses related to music.

The symmetry isn’t lost on her.

“It’s so fabulous to be with 20-year-olds in the morning and singing for 90-year-olds in the afternoon,” Campbell said.

‘High Every Time I Leave’

When Campbell moved to Palm Springs to be closer to her son about five years ago, she developed her own program and shopped it around to assisted living facilities in the area. She has four regular clients and sings about 10 times a month.

The gig suits her. Campbell said she is a happy person “no matter what,” but more so because she has found a renewed sense of purpose

“It’s fun to be of service. It’s the most important thing at this time in our lives,” she said.

Because of it, “I’m high every time I leave,” she continued. “It is so much fun, and I just love these people I sing for.”

Campbell hopes the reverse is true for her audiences.

“People who have dementia or Alzheimer’s don’t really use their voices,” she said. “They get very quiet.”

Familiar songs such as “You Are My Sunshine,” “Que Sera, Sera” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” can unlock memories and reduce anxiety and irritation.

“Old songs, they remember,” Campbell said. “A lot of times, I end with ‘America the Beautiful,’ because for me, it’s the right time in our history to embrace America, and it’s so joyful. They all know it, and they feel the poetry.

“They become very engaged. I’ll stop in the middle of a song and say to someone, ‘How about trying the tambourine?’ and help them move their wrists,” she said. “I try to be very articulate in my singing so they can read my lips, and I see people — even if they’re not doing the tambourine — slumbering and wake up, especially if it’s a song they’re familiar with, and they will start singing. Most of them, I have their full attention, which is kind of amazing.”

‘They Remember Me’

Her program involves more than singing. There’s exercise, too. Even a movement as simple as banging a tambourine improves hand mobility and strength.

Maybe the music isn’t perfect. It doesn’t have to be.

“We just have fun. I don’t have any worries about not getting it quite right. It’s not Carnegie Hall. It’s a place to connect,” Campbell said.

Before she starts singing, Campbell makes the rounds

“I’m a touchy-feely girl. Sometimes I spend 30 seconds hugging,” she said. “Some of these people may be forgotten. Some have families who come and participate, but many don’t. They don’t get a lot of intimacy.”

It’s not for lack of love by their children, grandchildren and other family members. It’s the heartbreak a daughter feels when her mother doesn’t recognize her or thinks her own mother has come to visit.

“The problem is, they know them from before, and it’s really hard to accept,” Campbell said. “I’m just present with who they are in the moment. I don’t know them from before. I respect 100 percent where they’re at.”

Campbell has known some people in her choirs for two or three years.

“The whole gang is sitting down waiting, and when I walk in, they all clap,” she said. “On top of that, they remember me. Who doesn’t want that?”

About Patch People

Patch People is a recurring feature telling the stories of readers, including their interests, passions, challenges, triumphs and seminal moments that resulted in profound change, with a goal of making us all feel a bit more connected. Or, you may want to talk about something entirely different, and that’s OK, too. Readers can submit their stories through this form or by email to beth.dalbey@patch.com.