Meet Jack
![A man wearing a yellow t-shirt picking some leaves off a tree](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dementia.org.au%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2023-12%2FMeet-Jack.png&w=3840&q=75)
Jack has led an active lifestyle all his life. He was an AFL umpire and a member of a social running club. Jack is now semi-retired with a hobby of growing native plants.
Jack lives with his partner Chris in the Northern Territory. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in July 2021.
Jack was a radio technician in the Royal Australian Air Force for 20 years before taking up journalism. He initially worked with NT News as a reporter and later as chief of staff. Jack then went on to work for a country newspaper in Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory where staff were using typewriters to layout the paper so Jack’s experience with computerised publication proved handy. What was a small fortnightly newspaper became a profitable weekly paper of up to 70 plus pages.
![Some people standing at a beach with arms around each other smiling](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dementia.org.au%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2023-12%2FMeet-Jack-people.png&w=3840&q=75)
After 15 years Jack moved into work health and safety for a building company, assisting it to achieve federal safety commission approvals. A lifestyle change saw Jack and Chris move to their present residence at Wagait Beach where Jack opened and published a local newspaper for 10 years.
Jack spent many years as a football umpire and is a life member of the Northern Territory Football League Umpires Association and has completed over 800 runs with the Hash House Harriers, a social running club.
Jack is now semi-retired with a hobby of growing native plants.
![A man and woman sitting at a table reading](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.dementia.org.au%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fmedia_block_landscape%2Fpublic%2F2023-12%2FMeet-Jack-Reading.png%3Fh%3D07096448%26itok%3DoCNrMisV&w=3840&q=75)