We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Geert Van Laer, on 17 January 2023. Geert was a former member of the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD), from 2018 to 2022. He left the EWGPWD in June 2022, after four years of service and important contributions to the group, including delivering a speech during the EWGPWD symposium at the 28th Alzheimer Europe Conference, in Barcelona (Spain) in October 2018. Geert was born in a small village called Merksplas in Belgium. His father was a dairy farmer but he chose to study digital technology and subsequently worked for 30 years as a telecom software engineer. During his career, he spent a long time in Norway, Germany, Israel and China and in the head office in Antwerp in Belgium, he worked with people from all over the world. In 2017, he got a diagnosis of early stage dementia and in 2018 was nominated by Ligue Nationale Alzheimer Liga, to become a member of the EWGPWD.
He also joined the newly-formed Flemish Working Group for people with dementia in his own country, that same year. Geert was warm, kind, hugely likeable and full of humour. He will be sorely missed by all of us at Alzheimer Europe and by his former colleagues in the EWGPWD. His funeral took place on 25 January and was attended by Sabine Henry (president of Ligue Nationale Alzheimer Liga), Rudy Poets, Director of Alzheimer Liga Vlaanderen and members of the Flemish Working Group for people with dementia. Dianne Gove and Ana Diaz from Alzheimer Europe, Chris Roberts (Chairperson of the EWGPWD) and other group members joined the funeral service on live streaming. We offer our deepest condolences to Geert's wife Ikuko and their two sons.
