Jack Dasher is carrying on his family’s history of longevity. On July 28 he will turn 100 years of age. 

His mother lived to be 104, a sister reached 102, his father to 97, and a brother who reached 99 years, 10 months. Other siblings have also reached well into the 90s and beyond.

A celebration was held for Jack on Monday, July 21 at Memorial Manor, where he is now residing. The Manor staff helped with the celebration, serving up cake, cookies and icecream and leading the singing of Happy Birthday.

Jack’s nephew Tom Dasher and his wife Leslee came from South Florida for the event, joining Jack’s wife Katie and her sister Dollie Childree.

Jack and Katie were married in 2002 at the Decatur County Senior Citizen Center, the place they first met. Up until Jack’s health failed he and his wife were regulars at the center where they loved to dance.

They showed they can still cut a rug and entertained everyone at the birthday party. Jack, looking dapper in his navy blazer, escorted his wife onto the dance floor for a romantic dance to an old Glenn Miller tune.

Jack grew up in Fowlstown, where his parents ran a general merchandise store and post office for fifty years. He graduated from Faceville High School in 1933, then joined the U.S. Marines. He served four years, came home, then went back in 1941 and served in WWII. Following his discharge, he moved to Macon and managed the Tradewinds Motel in Fosyth for seven years. He also owned a service station in Macon and worked for a while at Belk. When his father died in 1963 he came back to Fowlstown to care for his mother. He served as Justice of the Peace in that community.