As you grow older, it becomes harder to alter the game plan.

"Our marriage was somewhat contrary to tradition," he said. "Most couples have the most intensity in the beginning. But I was always working. So we had the best and most romantic part of our marriage at the end. We literally held hands for the last 20 years." so says Celtics basketball great Bob Cousy, whose wife passed last week. She had suffered from dementia.

Missie's cognitive decline was gradual and began a dozen years ago, Cousy said. She would ask him the same question, over and over. She hallucinated, grew disoriented and struggled with balance. But she always knew her husband, and she bristled at any suggestion that she suffered from dementia.

So Cousy worked hard to create the perception that his once-independent wife was vital and healthy. Because she believed she could still drive, he shipped her station wagon to their place in Florida each winter so she could see it in the driveway. Artificial red flowers were planted in her garden. He did all the household chores and let her think she performed them herself.

"My dad provided an environment that allowed her, in her mind, to be a fully functioning adult," said daughter Marie. "It was amazing to watch."

The sports legend who led the Celtics to six World Championships said he never felt defeated by the challenge of caring full time for his ailing spouse.

"It drew us closer together," he said. "It was never a chore, because I knew she would have done the same for me. You just have to go with the flow. Every three months, I'd scream out something just for release."

On Sept. 7, Cousy took his wife for an early dinner at Worcester Country Club. On the way home, in the car, Missie suffered a massive stroke. She died peacefully two weeks later and was buried in St. John's Cemetery.

Today, Cousy is consoled by memories of his bride and the knowledge that she was happy until the end of her days. Ever the class act, he marveled that the son of poor French immigrants could enjoy such a charmed, fortunate life — athletic fame, loving daughters, grandchildren and a wife he adored. Only when asked what he missed most about Missie did he struggle for composure.

"I can't put the pills out in the morning," he said. "And I can't care for her anymore."

Still, every night he goes to bed and tells his wife that he loves her. For a man as devoted and steadfast as Bob Cousy, it's hard to alter the game plan.

Bob Cousy was definitely someone who I looked up to and wanted to be like. This is the way I remember him.

He inspired me to spend hours and hours practicing basketball in the alley down the way from my house in Sioux City, Iowa. I wanted to be just like him. I am not surprised he turned out to be such a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.

Thanks to Ann Voskamp for providing the link to the Telegram article.