Amanda M. Usher | The Valdosta Daily TimesMargie Vollenweider, Crafts by Margie owner, participates in the Second Annual Arts and Crafts fundraiser hosted by Alzheimer's Caregiver Time Out at the Valdosta Masonic Temple Saturday. 

VALDOSTA — As Nancy Creel sold chocolate and pound cakes Saturday during the Arts and Crafts Show, she remembered her late husband, Carlos Creel. 

The Arts and Crafts Show, held at Valdosta Masonic Temple, benefited Alzheimer’s Caregiver Time Out, an organization that is dear to Nancy.

The former ACTO activities director and current board member said her husband died of Alzheimer’s March 27, his 78th birthday. He was diagnosed in January, she said.

“I’m still having emotional problems, the loss and having to take charge of everything,” she said.

In her 10-12 years of working with ACTO clients, Creel said she could notice signs of either dementia or Alzheimer’s in her husband.

“Alzheimer’s is really big in my family, and I’m just drawn to these people because I know and have taken care of so many people who have had this disease,” she said.

She and her husband would have been married 28 years two weeks after his passing.

Assisting with ACTO fundraisers, such as the Arts and Crafts Show, helps Creel not feel alone, she said.

“It fills my time so I’m not alone,” she said. “That’s the worst part of the whole thing is the empty house and having to eat alone.”

Carlos Creel was a four-year Air Force veteran and also a retired minister. His teachings aid Creel in getting through days when she misses him.

“I just have to remember him. … I just remember his teachings, the things that he would say. I know that he’s in a better place, and I have a feeling of comfort knowing that he doesn’t have to suffer, anymore,” she said.

Margie Vollenweider, owner of Crafts by Margie, has lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s.

Vollenweider sold painted gourds, team logo jewelry, broken plate jewelry and more at the show.

Her friend, the late Shannon Jenkins, was ACTO’s former executive director. The craftswoman said even if she didn’t sell anything, she still likes to support the cause because of Jenkins.

“She used to always be an arts and crafts person herself, and that’s what she used to do with the older folks,” she said. “She was always looking for something simple that they could do, and she had the patience and worked with them.”

ACTO provides caregivers respite from caring for family members who suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Clients pay $5 per day, or $50 per month.

“It’s a good organization, and anybody that has to take care of anybody, they need respite,” Vollenweider said. “That’s what it’s for.”

Also at the craft show was Rachel Johnson, who was present to support her mother’s business, Karla’s Kreations.

Her mother makes by hand purse accessories, bags and other items. Johnson said they wanted to support ACTO.

“We like to find little organizations that actually do something good with the money that they (are) earning,” she said. “We love good organizations with a good cause.”

Amanda Usher is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1274.