TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019, no longer remembers most of his own family, according to a report from the Columbus Dispatch.
Hanna was the former director of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, but he was well known for his appearances on David Letterman and his own nationally syndicated TV show.
The Hanna family welcomed the Columbus Dispatch into their home “for a real-world look into living with Alzheimer’s disease,” the family tweeted. “While Dad/Jack is still mobile, his mind fails him, the light in his eyes has dimmed, and we miss who he was each & every moment of the day.”
Hanna now only remembers his wife, Suzi, their dog and his oldest daughter, who travels from England to care for him, according to the Dispatch.
“My husband is still in there somewhere,” Suzi told the Dispatch. “There are still those sweet, tender moments — you know, pieces of him that made me and the rest of the world fall in love with him.”
Hanna and Suzi still take walks together every day near their current home in Montana.
Hanna’s family told the Dispatch that in the months up to his diagnosis, he would forget what he was doing for the day or what city he was in.
In 2021, Hanna retired from public life due to Alzheimer’s.
“Doctors have diagnosed our dad, Jack Hanna, with dementia, now believed to be Alzheimer’s disease,” the family said in a statement. “His condition has progressed much faster in the last few months than any of us could have anticipated. Sadly, Dad is no longer able to participate in public life as he used to, where people all over the world watched, learned and laughed alongside him.”
Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. About 6.7 million people in the United States have the disease.
“We stand in support of Jack, Suzi, and the Hanna family,” the Columbus Zoo shared in a Facebook post. “Jack is and will always be an integral part of the Columbus Zoo and The Wilds’ history and legacy.”
The zoo set up a green mailbox in the guest relations office so visitors can leave notes of love and support for the Hanna family.
