Switzerland

21May

By Web TeamNo Comments

Noteworthy, Profiles, Switzerland, United States

Denis Farkasfalvy, theologist

Denis Farkasfalvy ‑ a Hungarian-American, Roman Catholic priest and monk of the Cistercian Order – died of Covid-19 on May 20, 2020. He was an abbot, theologian, author and translator. His baptismal name was Miklós; his father was a mechanical engineer. As a schoolboy he attended the school run by Cistercian priests in his home town of Székesfehérvár. After it was closed down by the communist government, in 1948 he transferred to the famous school run by Benedictines in Pannonhalma. He graduated in 1954 and became a clandestine Cistercian novice for Zirc Abbey in 1955; the monastery was officially suppressed at the time. His name in monastic life was Dionysius. After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 he took the advice of his novice master L&...

7May

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Noteworthy, Profiles, Switzerland

Jacques Reymond, ski trainer

Jacques Reymond ‑ a Swiss ski trainer – died from Covid-19 on 6 May 2020. Reymond worked for many years as a trainer for the Swiss Ski Association Swiss-Ski. From 1979 to 1995 he acted as head coach and technical coach of the Swiss men's national team. He was also a condition trainer for the women's national team for several years. He also looked after Erika Hess in the women's national team. After retiring from active skiing, he married Hess on 6 May 1988. The marriage gave birth to three sons; Marco, the youngest, drives races in the European Cup and World Cup. The two lived in Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz in Canton of Vaud. Together they organized races and training camps for young ski racers. In Saint-Légier...

4May

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Noteworthy, Profiles, Switzerland

Tendol Gyalzur, humanitarian

Tendol Gyalzur –a Tibetan-Swiss humanitarian known for founding the first private orphanage in Tibet – passed away after suffering from Covid-19 on 3 May 2020. Gyalzur was born as Tenzin Dolkar in Shigatse, Tibet. She lost her parents in the Chinese annexation of Tibet and as a child crossed the Himalayas on foot and on horseback to flee to India. She grew up in an Indian orphanage, and was chosen to be one of a dozen children sent to Germany by the Tibetan government in exile in 1963. In Germany, she obtained a nursing degree, married another Tibetan refugee, Losang Gyalzur, and moved with him to Switzerland. When revisiting Tibet as an adult, the sight of numerous street children motivated her to found Tibet's first private orphanage in Lha...

25Mar

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Noteworthy, Profiles, Switzerland

Steven Dick, diplomat

Steven Dick ‑ a British diplomat who was the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Budapest – died from Covid-19 on 24 March 2020. Dick joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2008 and had served in Kabul and Riyadh. Dick arrived in Hungary in June 2019. He studied Hungarian in Pécs before receiving a secondment to the Hungarian Government. After a few weeks, he started his role in the Embassy in late November. On 25 March 2020, it was announced that Dick died from COVID-19 after having earlier tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. He was 37.