Who is Responsible For “George”?

Melinda Gipson | May, 2026

I’d like to let you in on a conversation that I’m hoping can become more prevalent as a topic for our community engagement. 

Here at Clozure, we are continually asked about situations that families and friends face that are brought on by aging and that often have no easy answers. It takes an expert to find a way through the weeds of choices of financial instruments, care for our own and others’ eventual illness, and – in Loudoun County and other wealthier neighborhoods in particular – housing and memory care for those who need it.

We’re blessed by many qualified planning pros, and we’ll be introducing you to many of the best here as this blog develops. What I want to focus on for the moment, though, is something that happened to a friend of mine that really brought this subject home. We’ll call him George. 

George is one of a community of expats in Panama who go to church together. Most are retired. All have their share of aches and pains but, for a very few, the issue has become loss of cognitive competence. George decided he had to go back to his former home in Colorado to straighten out some issues with his Social Security. Long story short, on the way back, he lost his passport, missed his flight and sent a wave of panic through his community trying to locate him and connect him with authorities on the ground who could get him sorted.

George’s family is out of the picture. He’s on his own and likes it that way. But he often needs help to get around and deal with emergencies like this. When his church buddy finally picked him up from the airport and wondered how to get into his apartment, he found the door open and George’s keys on the kitchen table – right where he’d left them. 

It was a chilling wake-up call that sent “what if that happened to me” thoughts racing through our heads. Losing our ability to think straight remains one of our biggest fears as we grow old. Everyone in what has been called the “silver tsunami” needs to consider what we can do to build an ark to sail us to safety because it is definitely raining!

Peggy Breda, founder of A Family Tie is one of those aging experts in Loudoun that deals with similar issues daily. She notes that “situations like George’s are both heartbreaking and incredibly motivating at the same time. They are a real and frightening reminder of how vulnerable aging can become, especially when someone is navigating cognitive decline, isolation or simply the overwhelming complexity of systems that are supposed to support us.” 

She adds, “I think one of the scariest realities is that so many people are trying to plan responsibly for their future, yet the options can feel confusing, inaccessible, or simply inadequate. Long-term care planning alone leaves many families overwhelmed, and too often people do not fully understand their choices until they are already in crisis.”

“This story highlights exactly why we need stronger resources, better education, and more compassionate support systems in place for our growing senior population. Having meaningful options, community support, and accessible guidance should not feel like a privilege; it should be part of how we care for one another as we age.”

“What struck me most was your question: ‘Whose responsibility is he?’ That is the conversation many people avoid, yet it is becoming one of the most important issues of our time. Families are smaller, many seniors are aging alone, and communities are being forced to rethink what support and accountability truly look like. Stories like George’s put a very human face on the ‘Silver Tsunami’ and remind us that this is not a distant issue — it is happening now.”

“I truly believe we need more conversations like this, more awareness, and more collaboration to create solutions before more families find themselves in crisis.”

Peggy is stepping up herself and looking to build a non-profit called Floating Bridge a Tony Breda Memorial Foundation that will provide scholarships for older people in her community to help fill the gap between what Medicaid and local social services can provide and what people actually need to stay in the community where they raised their kids and paid their taxes for decades. 

Clozure will be involved whenever and however such conversations take place, but we’d like to hear from you too.

How are you helping to fill the gaps for your loved ones? What kinds of sacrifices are involved, and how do you cope?

Drop me a line at melinda@getclozure.com or comment on our facebook page, and let us know how we can support you in the trenches.