They 'cant help falling in love' with Elvis as impersonator helps raise thousands for Alzheimer's Society

The event was organised by Jim and Peter's wives and daughters, Sarah and Sue Pitman, Jill Redding, Tracey Moss and Alison Ashby and also assisted by their friends Jeanette Hockley and Angela Killick.

Jim (Fizzer) Pitman, was born and raised in Boxgrove, where he went to school and enjoyed a country way of life. Jim's daughter Sue said, "Dad started work at 14 at Drayton Depot near Chichester for West Sussex County Council (which he always referred to as We Sell Current Cakes, to us kids!). He trained as a diesel engineer and worked there until he took early retirement at 60. Dad met mum, Sarah, in 1953 and married in 1954. They had three children, myself and two sons, Jimmy and Peter and three grandchildren Tanya, Nicola and Jack. Dad loved life and was always telling jokes.

At the family home in Fontwell we always had dogs, horses, chickens, and anything else that needed a home. The garden was always full of colour and home-grown veg, which dad attended to after work. After retiring, he was lucky enough to enjoy several years of good health before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's with dementia. This changed family life for us all, but mainly for my poor dad, who became very restless, frustrated, obsessive, and more and more difficult to care for. My mum couldn't go out unless someone was at home with dad. She was forever putting things back in the right place and didn't get much sleep because dad would start walking around during the night. Living with Alzheimer's is such a cruel and life changing condition, not only for those who are living with it, but for all their family and friends too."

Peter's daughter Tracey said, "Our dad was very popular and much loved and had a really wonderful life. He absolutely loved meeting people, and my sister Alison and I, grew up in a very sociable home. Dad adored cricket (he played and umpired for Eartham and Boxgrove for about 60 years) until arthritis got the better of him. Pub darts was another passion.

He also loved horseracing and some of his proudest moments came from the wins of his racehorse Al Asoof, trained by the late Peter Hedger. Peter, along with his wife Laura, joined in on many memorable occasions celebrating "Alfie's " five wins, three of which were at Fontwell Park.

He was also a member of the Bognor 12 Club for many years, right up until we so sadly lost him. The mental stimulation he got from that, and his weekly gatherings at the Wilkes Head, with his fantastic friends from the Club, was a tremendous boost whilst he battled with dementia. He adored spending time with all of his family, including his two grandchildren Callum and Abby and other friends too.

Peter's wife Jill is also keen to stress the importance of early diagnosis of dementia. "I started to notice that Peter was forgetting things that he would normally remember very easily and repeating himself more frequently. I didn't feel it was just down to old age. I just had a feeling that things weren't right. Peter's brilliant doctor, Mark Sidney arranged for various tests to be carried out and dementia was diagnosed eight years before Peter was so sadly taken from us by a stroke aged 83. The type of Dementia that Peter had was treated with Donepezil and certainly slowed the progression of this dreadful disease. Peter and Jim would have absolutely loved the Elvis night, full of fun and laughter and fabulous music and dancing. It gave us all a chance to share many happy memories too."

The event could not have been the amazing success it was without a huge amount of generous support from so many friends, family and businesses and of course Elvis, aka Sean Ward "seansingselvis.com" and Nina and Martin McMaster who run the hall and the bar, which proved very popular! The businesses and groups that contributed raffle and auction prizes included, to name but a few: Sims Williams, Bailiffscourt Climping Black Horse Binsted, Peter Pitman Ltd, Westrings Travel , John Donabie Photography , Fontwell Park, Bognor 12 Club friends, Ebony Jewellers, The Spur Slindon, Holistic Fit Yoga, Greenwood Plants, D&M Chainsaws Barnham Fish Bar, Moore Relaxation, Denman's Gardens and Midpines Café.

The families wish to express their deepest gratitude to every individual and businesses involved.

Lindy Stannard, Community Fundraiser for Alzheimer's Society in Surrey and West Sussex said "We are incredibly grateful to the Pitman and Redding families for raising over £5,500 for Alzheimer's Society. We are all facing a massive challenge. Dementia is the biggest killer in this country and there is currently no cure. Alzheimer's Society is here to change that and with the support of amazing people like Sue, Sarah, Jill, Tracey and Alison and their team of friends, together we are bringing help and hope to people living with dementia”.

If anyone would like to make a donation to Alzheimer's Society, a JustGiving.com page has been set up in memory of Jim and Peter please search under ReddingPitmanAlzheimers or Tracey Moss on their website.

Alternatively, please contact Alzheimer's Society directly on 0330 333 0804 (8am to 10pm daily). THANK YOU

Credit for group photo with cheque and Elvis - John Donabie The small Wedding Photographer