Margaret “Peg” and Ray Cicirelli are among the many planning to be at the Western Tidewater Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Sept. 19.

And like many who will be there, they have been personally affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

The Cicirellis have a blended family of five kids. Despite their military service, they didn’t get to travel as much as they would have liked during their careers.

So they made it a point to travel after retirement. They visited Russia, England, Africa, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Canada, China and Tibet, among other countries.

The couple was on vacation relatively nearby, in the Outer Banks, several years ago when they realized something was wrong. Ray kept passing out, which sent them to neurologists seeking answers.

There were other signs, too. Ray, who had always handled the couple’s taxes and finances, started having trouble managing both.

“The little mistakes were getting bigger,” Peg said. “These were things he always did before.”

Peg was already familiar with Alzheimer’s disease, having been a hospice volunteer before. But it couldn’t have prepared her for her own husband getting the disease.

“The diagnosis took months,” Peg said. “It was a shock. It’s something you don’t want to hear.”

The couple joined the Alzheimer’s Association’s EASE program, which stands for Early Alzheimer’s Support and Education. It covers medical, legal and other issues for both the person with Alzheimer’s and his or her caregivers.

“You cover all of the bases you need to know about, maybe not right now but in the future,” Peg said.

She has also recently become a facilitator at the Lake Prince Woods support group for Alzheimer’s. Ray is doing remarkably well, Peg says.

She encourages anybody who is able to support the Alzheimer’s Association for its support of families and caregivers and support of research.

“For many years, the research has been strictly toward finding medications to help,” she said. “In the last couple of years, they’ve put the research into causes. If they can find the causes, then they can start looking for prevention.”

People with Alzheimer’s in their family should especially think about supporting the walk, she said.

“If they have Alzheimer’s in their family at all, what they donate and support may not help the person in their lifetime, but it may help their children and their grandchildren,” she said.

Even people who aren’t able to give money are welcome at the walk, she added.

“It’s not just giving money, it’s the show of support,” she said.

The walk will take place starting at Constant’s Wharf, 110 E. Constance Road, starting at 10 a.m. on Sept. 19.

For more information or to register, visit alz.org/walk.