Professor Jaroslav Smital passed away at the age of 79 years on March 9th, 2022. He was the founder of Czech-Slovak school of discrete dynamical systems and we all will miss him not only as a great mathematician and an extraordinary member of the Czech mathematical community, but above all as a good friend, colleague and a very inspiring person. The Czech-Slovak Workshop on Discrete Dynamical Systems 2022 was devoted to his memory and to celebrate his life's work. This article consists of personal recollections composed by several different authors, Jaro's colleagues and friends.