Glen Campbell Honored Among Alzheimer's Angst

Note:  The Falk/NASGA Legislative Team crafted the "Campbell/Falk Act" with the help of Senator Rusty Crowe and his wonderful legislative team. That bill became our signature bill and it received positive reviews in many states around the county.

The Campbell/Falk Act easily and enthusiastically passed the Tennessee Senate; but met with strong opposition in the House.  The House basically gutted our bill (removing accountability by adding a sentence which would have given public and professional guardians exemption from the requirements of the new law).  It was touch and go and we were worried the bill would not pass.

Were it not for the monumental efforts of Senator Rusty Crowe in negotiating with the House to remove the "free pass" the House version wished to give to public and professional conservators, the Campbell/Falk Act would not have passed at all.  

We are grateful to Senator Crowe for going more than the extra mile to ensure the passing of the re-drafted Campbell Falk Act in Tennessee, for his friendship and support, and the many hours he spent working with the Falk/NASGA legislative team to create the original bill which soon passed in its entirety in South Dakota.   

The country crooner was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011. This diagnosis spurred a documentary being filmed of his final tour as Campbell wanted to bring awareness to the disease to help others. It also brought on a family feud that continues today when Campbell does not have the ability to facilitate a reconciliation.

The prestigious Awards show will be televised for the first time in its 10 year history on September 9th, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. eastern on CBS. Glen Campbell will be honored by many via a medley of his hits by some of today’s hottest stars in country music at the 2016 ACM Honors which were filmed on August 30, 2016.

During the Awards show you will see a lot of great folks performing and being honored at this award show. What you won’t see are the adult children from Glen’s first and second marriages who were sitting in the audience get up and stand on the stage with Glen’s 4th wife and their 1/2 siblings to accept the award. The apparent shun and animosity did not go unnoticed by dozens of industry people in attendance and the Nashville music community is concerned.

There has been an ongoing feud between Glen’s 4th wife and some of his adult children from previous marriages for several years now. This unfortunately is happening more and more in families with loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s. It seems to be a growing epidemic happening in today’s modern families, especially in families where there have been multiple marriages. Some good came from this feud however as the two oldest Campbell children (Debby & Travis) teamed up with Catherine Falk, the daughter of deceased actor Peter Falk and secured the Campbell Falk Bill. That Bill became law this past September, 2016.

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Glen Campbell Honored Among Alzheimer's Angst

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NASGA:  NASGA Members in Legislative Action

The "Campbell~Falk" Bill

NASGA Director Marcia Southwick proudly displays our "Campbell~Falk Bill" after it was signed into Tennessee law by Governor Haslam.

Because of this law, musical icon Glen Campbell is able to see his oldest children, Travis and Trudy once again. Because of this law, untold numbers of guardianship wards in Tennessee who have been denied the presence and the comfort of their family and friends by their court-appointed guardians will no longer have to suffer in isolation!

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Glen Campbell's Children Instigate Tennessee Law That Will Protect Elderly

Glen Campbell's Children Instigate Tennessee Law That Will Protect Elderly

This week marked a major victory for Glen Campbell's oldest children in what they claim has been an ongoing battle with their stepmother over rights to visit their ailing father. On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed the Campbell/Falk Act, which protects communication rights for people who've become wards of the state and those who have conservators over their financial and living situations.

Named after the country music legend and Emmy-winning actor Peter Falk (Columbo, Murder, Inc.), the new law restricts conservators from blocking interaction with loved ones, whether it be in person or via phone, email or mail. And if the disabled person is unable to communicate — as is the case with Campbell, who is in the final stages of Alzheimer's — his or her prior relationship with the visiting person presumes consent.

Campbell's eldest daughter, Debby, and son Travis teamed with Falk's daughter, Catherine, in lobbying the government to get behind the cause. Catherine Falk claims her stepmother tried to prevent her from seeing her famous father, resulting in extensive (and expensive) legal action. Peter Falk suffered from dementia and passed away in 2011. Catherine claims her stepmother neither notified her of her father's passing, nor of his funeral.

Falk was at the Tennessee state capitol this past Monday, along with Debbie Campbell Cloyd, Travis Campbell and his wife Trudy, Marcia Southwick with Boomers Against Elder Abuse and Joseph Roubicek of the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse. Country legend Tanya Tucker — who dated Glen Campbell in the early Eighties and has remained a close family friend — was also in attendance to lend her outspoken support.

"If this can happen to Glen Campbell, it can happen to anyone," Trudy Campbell said at the bill's signing, as reported in a news release from Tennessee's Senate Republican Caucus. "It is a civil right and certainly a God-given right to see your child and to receive mail from them. We know that thousands of others are suffering from restrictive action by a ward and are very pleased that Tennessee has passed this law to protect them."

Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City), who sponsored the bill with Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) commented that it's "heartbreaking to hear sons and daughters who cannot spend quality time with their parent after they are incapacitated and their health is in decline," adding, "We believe this new law strikes the right balance so that it protects the rights of some of our most vulnerable citizens, while at the same time giving the conservator a fair process to follow in protecting the ward."  (Continue Reading)

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Glen Campbell's Children Instigate Tennessee Law That Will Protect Elderly