Legendary wrestler Verne Gagne and a tragic tale of Alzheimer’s
Verne Gagne, 82, is a former wrestlingchampion who has attained folk legend status in Minnesota. And HelmutR. Gutmann, 97, was a former cancer researcher who came to this countryafter fleeing Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Both have suffered fromAlzheimer’s-related dementia and had been residing in a Bloomingtonfacility housing people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. In a tragic moment on Jan. 26, Gagne apparently threw Gutmann to the floor. Gutmann was taken to the hospital and died 20 days later.
It’s not known what precipitated the incidentbetween the two men at the memory loss unit of the Friendship Villageretirement community. But according to Gutmann’s widow, Betty Gutmann,Gagne picked up the diminutive and frail man and hurled him violentlyto the floor, breaking his hip.