GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (WFRV) – It was a sea of purple at the Fox Cities Stadium as people walked to end Alzheimer’s.

Brenda Jamroz and her sister Holly Colligan from Appleton were honoring their dad who passed away from the disease.

Jamroz says, “It’s the hardest thing we’ve ever had to go through, but thankfully, we’ve done it together.”

The walk not only honors the lives lost to Alzheimer’s but the people currently living with it and their caregivers. Colligan says, “It’s such a hard disease. This is just our way to do a little to honor him.”

Also honoring a loved one lost to Alzheimer’s were Jodi Cecil and Kathy Schneider from Neenah. Schneider lost her husband to the disease, which is also Cecil’s father.

Cecil says, “There’s a lot more to it than forgetting. It’s not just a memory loss thing, and I think that’s difficult for people to understand. There’s a lot of physical pieces that go to it.”

Schneider had tears in her eyes when she said how important bringing awareness to the disease is.

“The research is out there and my husband was way late for it, but there are families that are suffering that need the help,” Schneider says.

The walk raised more than $77,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association.