We, George and Gabriela, were looking forward to meeting her again, when we were back from Europe this autumn.
But Jan is here no more. 


The short time we had the pleasure to know her as our neighbour and than friend-neighbour in Oakmont was joyful and appealing, because Jan was special: she had charm and style, she was interested, curious and open minded. The many stories and anecdotes she told us of her eventful life in many and different places were entertaining and encouraging. 


She introduced and drove Gabriela to her French-and Italian courses; we had dinners together, and she was never too tired for a return invitation with Italian or Moroccan dishes prepared by herself. We also celebrated real (January) and imaginary (May) birthday-parties together. 


She wanted to help Gabriela with her english and invited her for conversations: she was very modern in her ideas and opinions, especially about the progress of women escaping  the patriarchal world of yesterday. She surprised us with her relevant and accurate remarks about a movie we had seen, or an article we had read.
The last months of her life must have been hard, locked in by the virus which deprived her of the structure and interest of her daily life. 


Arrivederci Jan, you are in our thoughts. Gabriela and Giorgio