On 19 April, Hanka Janečková, chairwoman of the Czech Alzheimer Society (ČALS) Board of directors, died after a serious illness, at the age of 74. Ms Janečková was behind the founding of the ČALS civic association more than 25 years ago and was the first chairwoman of the board after its transformation into a benevolent association in 2014. Hanka was not only important to ČALS through her work on the Board of directors, but she was also a member of the Dragonfly audit team and helped bring successful foreign trends to the Czech Republic. Thanks to her, the association got to know Jitka Zgola, and her work with reminiscence techniques led to the establishment of the Reminiscence Centre in Prague.
Not only did she enrich their courses with comprehensive lectures, but she was also a popular head of the Department of Social Work at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of Charles University. She played an important role in Diakonia CCE and in the community of sociologists of medicine. Hanka Janečková leaves behind a great legacy of work, but what is equally important is that she was a very kind and empa-thetic person, who knew the importance of listening to others. She was a great mother to her children and a loving grand-mother to her grandchildren. Her passing is a great loss for everybody, not only for our colleagues at the Czech Alzheimer Society. Our sincerest condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
