For the first time, Jack Hanna’s family is speaking publicly about his struggle with Alzheimer’s disease with The Columbus Dispatch. Hanna, 76, was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s in fall 2019, but the disease has progressed so far that he no longer recognizes most of his family members. He only remembers his wife Suzi, 75, his dog Brassy, and sometimes his oldest daughter Kathaleen, who travels almost 5,000 miles from England to look after her dad every month.
After crossing the world together for 54 years, the couple has been confined to a 30-mile radius in northwest Montana centered around their house and 50-acre farm for the past two years. As Jack spends hours in the sun on the back deck of his lakeside home, he asks Suzi a dozen times a day if she feeds the dog. He is worried that the air coming out of the vents might be causing harm to the house or that the lights on the Christmas tree might cause something to catch fire. The continuity of his routine calms Jack, who has no memory of his previous life. He can get frustrated or angry when that routine is disrupted, usually toward Suzi.
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“My husband is still in there somewhere,” Suzi said. “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. It’s hard. Real hard some days. But he took care of me all those years, and so it’s my turn to take care of him.” The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 6.7 million people in the United States are afflicted with the disease. About 24 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s, according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In the U.S., Alzheimer’s disease is the seventh leading cause of death among adults, and it is the most common cause of dementia among seniors, according to the NIA.
Suzi said, “I remember the day this all officially started. The day the doctor told us what it was. I’ve just tried to hang on to the little pieces of Jack since then.” When Dr. Douglas Scharre told Jack Hanna he had Alzheimer’s disease on Oct. 3, 2019, Hanna said in defiance, “No way,” Jack said. “I don’t have that.” The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center neurologist and Alzheimer’s specialist Scharre explained the diagnosis to Jack, Suzi, Julie, and Suzanne positively and kindly. The symptoms that Scharre traced back to 2017 were indeed Alzheimer’s, he told the family. Afterward, Jack made Suzi promise that no one outside their family would ever find out. Jack didn’t want the world to know. According to Suzi, Jack feared his career would be over if the public discovered he had the disease, but he wasn’t ready to quit.
However, His family and friends said that Jack sometimes forgot where he was or what he was doing before the diagnosis. He sometimes forgot names and details about the animals he lived for when he got up on stage for his traveling animal shows. When Jack got on stage in early 2019, he forgot why he was there. He was supposed to introduce an old friend receiving an award, but he forgot why. Jack’s family, friends, and co-workers would cover for him by speaking for him or reminding him of where he was and what he was supposed to do. Although Jack was used to racing from one thing to another without worrying about details, this experience was completely different. Jack began quietly preparing to withdraw from public life shortly after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. In March 2020, he performed his last animal-themed show, and the COVID pandemic forced the company to cancel about a half dozen more. In June 2020, he announced he would retire from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium after 42 years. He formally retired on Dec. 31, 2020. “He would have worked until the day he died. He only retired due to the Alzheimer’s,” Kathaleen said. “He was embarrassed by it. He lived in fear the public would find out.”
During the early hours of April 5, 2021, the Hannas learned that The Conservation Game would be released in the coming days. According to the documentary, the baby tigers and snow leopards that sat on Jack’s lap on late-night talk shows did not originate from his Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and did not end up there when the cameras were turned off. In some cases, the film says, the animals were moved between backyard breeders and unaccredited roadside zoos compared to animal prisons. Jack and other celebrity animal conservationists allegedly misrepresented where the exotic cats came from and where they were going, so the public believed the cats were moving between accredited facilities. As a result of the fallout, the Columbus Zoo was decertified for almost 18 months. According to those close to the Hannas, the documentary made it seem that Jack didn’t care if animals were abused or neglected.
As some demanded a public response from Jack, his family felt they had no choice but to disclose his Alzheimer’s disease to the world. Kathaleen had been campaigning for many years to be allowed to go public, and Suzi did not want to betray Jack’s wishes in any way, but his legacy was more important. The family announced Jack’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis with a short statement on April 7, 2021. As the Hannas explained, they are sharing Jack’s story so other families know they are not alone when dealing with Alzheimer’s. “If this helps even one other family, it’s more than worth sharing dad’s story,” Kathaleen said. “He spent a lifetime helping everyone he could. He will never know it or understand it, but he is still doing it now.”
