Woman Captures the Sweet Way Her Grandmother with Dementia Always Remembered Her Husband (Exclusive)

• Dorothy Bagley was diagnosed with dementia in 2021, after showing early signs in 2016

• Though her memory faded, Bagley was able to recognize her husband, Merv Bagley, and say their signature, call-and-response catchphrase

• Following Dorothy’s death on Nov. 24, 2024, her granddaughter, Bridgette Milam, posted a video of the pair on TikTok, where it has since been viewed 6.2 million times

One granddaughter is remembering her late grandmother in a viral TikTok that proves some love is unforgettable.

Diagnosed with dementia in 2021, Dorothy Bagley had a difficult time remembering the people and places she loved the most, but would easily remember the catchphrase she shared with her husband, Merv Bagley, 89. Their granddaughter, Bridgette Milam, shared a compilation video on TikTok of the pair following Dorothy’s death on Nov. 24, 2024. It has since been viewed 6.1 million times.

“A bushel and a peck, a hug around the neck,” Merv says to his wife. To which she responds, “And to the moon!”

"Dementia tried to take everything away, but she never forgot her part," Bridgette captions the clip.

The sweet ritual came about when the pair were driving down the road “about 10 years ago,” Bridgette tells PEOPLE exclusively. The song “A Bushel and a Peck” from the musical Guys and Dolls came on the radio. “They started singing it often and it started from there. It just became another way that they told each other how much they loved each other.”

“[Merv] made sure to say it a lot more these last three years and [Dorothy] would never skip a beat,” Bridgette adds.

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When Merv heard about the viral TikTok, “he was really emotional,” Bridgette shares. “He wanted to download TikTok just so he could watch the video.”

Merv and Dorothy met in 2001, while out dancing in Tennessee. Dorothy, who loved to line dance, would go on her own. That is, until she met Merv in 2001. The pair eloped in March 2003 and spent the last 20 years dancing together.

Bridgette tells PEOPLE, “Merv was exactly what [Dorothy] was missing in her life. He was the first man who came in and loved her like she deserved.

Their granddaughter tells PEOPLE that the pair “both worked in the same shoe store until they retired together … They danced every week and hiked. Merv rode a motorcycle, which made [Dorothy], at the age of 57, want to learn to ride. She bought one, too, so they could ride motorcycles together.” She adds, “They had the best time together.”

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The pair had to stop dancing after Dorothy’s dementia worsened, as it would “make her paranoid and jealous, and act out towards her friends," Bridgette shares.

Bridgette tells PEOPLE that Dorothy and Merv’s time together was not always easy. In 2004, just one year into their marriage, Dorothy was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. “Merv held her hand through it all,” Bridgette says. “He loved her unconditionally.”

In 2016, Dorothy began showing signs of dementia, which became “progressively worse” over the years, but it wasn’t until 2021 that the family was able to have Dorothy evaluated and diagnosed.

Despite Merv being diagnosed with bladder cancer and experiencing setbacks of his own, Bridgette says that Dorothy was always his first priority. “[Merv] is the strongest man I know. He loved my mamaw more than anything. He always put her first,” she shares. She calls him “the most incredible man.”

Dorothy experienced a fall on Oct. 21, 2024, and her health began to decline quickly thereafter. “We thought we had more time,” Bridgette says. “We were with her when she took her last breath. Me, my mom, and Merv held her face and told her it was okay to go.”

Read the original article on People