Paul Oberbroeckling, of Denver, grew up on an Iowa dairy farm in a musical family. To call (and possibly entertain) the cows, he learned to whistle. Now 73 and living with memory loss, Oberbroeckling still finds joy in whistling. When his wife learned of a new choir for people with dementia, she suggested he join. His sister Anne, 76, joined too.
“It’s great fun to be here with Paul and I think we both enjoy it a lot and laugh a lot, particularly when we do the wrong thing,” said his big sister. “And sometimes he just goes from the lyrics into whistling and it makes me laugh.”
Second Verse Choir started in January — part of the Giving Voice Network of “dementia-defying choirs.” There are others in Lafayette and Buena Vista, Colorado…