13 January 1932 – 24 July 2024
Jacques joined Northside in February 1996, served as Vice-President (1999-2007) and was the second person to be made a Life Member. Many members of NCP remember Jacques as a friendly and welcoming presence, sitting at the front door, greeting people as they arrived. He always made newcomers feel welcome with his warm, friendly personality and gentle humour.
Jacques was a fine photographer, with a wide range of interests including documentary and sports photography. He enjoyed looking at life from many angles, photographing whatever caught his eye. A memorable creative series were abstract artworks highlighting the texture and shape of fruit.
He won many awards at national and international competitions, from his earliest days in the club. For example, he was awarded the AAPS from the Australian Photographic Society in 1997.
Jacques was an active participant of NCP for as long as his health allowed. He was always happy to work hard behind the scenes, and for many years he held the key to the hall where we meet. He would arrive first to set up the hall, and after helping to pack everything away, he was always the last to leave. He regularly purchased books and bottles of wine (mostly at his own expense) as lucky door prizes.
Jacques was an active participant and encouraging presence in our bi-annual portfolio projects. While others struggled to find a theme, Jacques would arrive at the first meeting with a complete portfolio printed out and ready to discuss. And often he would arrive at a subsequent meeting with a whole new body of work, already matted.
Jacques loved street photography and his last portfolio, taken at the age of 87, was of demonstrations. If there was a demonstration shown on the news, and he hadn’t heard about it, he would exclaim – Why didn’t I hear about that one?! You can see from his photos that he was standing with the press photographers, right in the thick of the action.
Jacques was married to Marianne, the love of his life, for 65 years, and had two daughters and three grandchildren. He was a man of outstanding character, warmth and humour, courage and creativity, dedication and humility. He will be deeply missed.
