MORGAN PARK — Chuck Lavin, 82, smiled as he sat surrounded by a group of sixth-grade girls on Monday in the lobby of the Smith Village Retirement Community in Morgan Park.
One of the seven girls standing beside him at 2320 W. 113th Place was his granddaughter, Annie Gainer, 12, of south suburban Oak Lawn.
But Lavin, a Smith Village resident, would be hard pressed to pick her out of the group.
Lavin suffers from Alzheimer's disease. His memory loss been gradual. Two years ago, family members were asked to make a detailed scrapbook, including pictures of Lavin's children, grandchildren, friends and relatives along with their names.
Lavin was encouraged to study this picture book in an effort to retain as much information as possible. This scrapbook was an inspiration to Annie.
She soon enlisted the help of six classmates from St. Catherine's of Alexandria School and Parish in Oak Lawn and entered the Verizon Innovative App Challenge.
On this DNAinfo Radio Extra, Howard Ludwig discusses how the app would work:
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