– Dion Teasdale
OBITUARY
Jack Hort
Born:1929
Died:12 May 2006
LIFELONG Healesville resident Jack Hort OAM, who died on Friday, 12 May, is remembered fondly as ‘a master of a thousand arts’.
Born Arthur John Hort in Healesville on 12 July, 1929, Jack, as he was known to family, friends and colleagues, lived and worked his entire life in the town.
He was one of seven children, left school at age 13 and began a rich and varied career as a ‘jack of all trades’.
Jack worked as a blacksmith, a pastry cook, a bakery delivery man, a post officer, a telegram deliverer, a timber mill worker and for 35 years he worked at French’s Laundry.
He married Beryl in 1954 and during their 40-year marriage they raised one son, John, and three daughters, Linda, Susan and Janet, and watched six grandchildren enter the world.
When he wasn’t working – which was not often – Jack loved to tell jokes, play golf and ride his bike, to travel – he took three trips around Australia – sail on his houseboat and build and renovate houses.
Jack played trombone for 24 years with the Healesville Brass Band and organised and ran debutante balls for 34 years through his involvement with the Rotary Club of Healesville.
Jack’s contributions to the community were many and varied and included major contributions as a member of the Rotary Club. He joined the club in 1977, was elected treasurer for four years and held the position of president in 1987.
In June 1987, as the newly installed president of the club, Jack announced the project for the year would be the construction of a heated swimming pool for the community.
The pool was to be built largely as a volunteer project to enable the costs to be kept to about $400,000. Jack led a committee that oversaw the planning, fundraising and building of the project.
Construction of the pool started in February 1989, and Jack retired from his work at the laundry to become the full-time volunteer site manager of the project.
The construction took close to 18 months, and during that time Jack worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day and was responsible for coordination of all volunteer labour and the supervision of the contractors and tradesmen.
In 1992 Jack was presented with the Medal of Order of Australia (OAM) and the Healesville Community Indoor Heated Swimming Pool now stands as testimony to his involvement in the local community.
