I've been told to tell her the truth to any of these questions by a woman who worked with AD patients. She had training to always tell an Alzheimer's patient the truth. Some say just pretend you don't know where stepdad is. She thinks my Dad and sometimes her Mom and Dad are still alive. What is the right way to answer? She insists her Mom is still alive.
I visited a woman once who told me her husband didn't come home last night. He had been dead for years, and the day before, she knew he was dead. In that case, I did remind her of the truth, and she wasn't too upset.
Sometimes it doesn't matter which you tell them because they will just forget it in an hour. I think always telling them the truth can be just downright mean.