The Emmarentia Residents Association (ERA) is mourning the tragic passing of Gemey Abrahams, a professional town planner and one of ERA’s key Executive Committee members, who was killed in a car accident on 13 December. Gemey had served on ERA’s executive committee for more than 25 years as a vital and active member. For some years she served as its chairperson, but mostly held the heritage, town planning and building portfolio always giving wise advice on all ERA matters and acting on behalf of the Louw Geldenhuys Trust. She believed passionately that everyone should follow the law and the municipal bylaws and persistently followed up with the City’s institutions to ensure that illegal land uses, illegal building/renovations, illegal advertising boards were dealt with. Nor was she afraid to take on developers, drawing up solid, lengthy arguments on behalf of residents and defending these arguments at the City’s Tribunal hearings. She shared her expertise widely and generously with other Residents’ Associations and with the JoburgCAN team with JoburgCAN’s Julia Fish describing this assistance to community groups as “irreplaceable”. Gemey was a passionate and natural runner. She loved living in Emmarentia, its spaces to run in, and particularly its history, and that of its buildings. When they were young, her children, Jess and Stirling, atttended Emmarentia Primary School (EPS) and later moved on to Parktown Girls and Boys respectively. Gemey was an active parent, serving on the School Governing Body at EPS and at Parktown Boys while her children were there. Her wide range of skills even stretched to designing costumes for the annual EPS school play and guided by her expertise, less skilled mothers sewed the required costumes ranging from pirates and the ‘lost children’ in Peter Pan to giant rats! Nothing was ever too much for Gemey. She always had a smile for everyone and despite working full-time on her own professional town planning work, always found space to represent residents, almost entirely at her own cost. ERA extends our sincere condolences to her family, particularly to Jess and Stirling, her partner Will and to all who knew and worked with her. We have lost a friend, an adviser and a fighter for justice. May her soul rest in peace.