Hopefully, we all have people like Jack Wilkinson grace our lives.

They are excellent at what they do, but it is in how they treat others that they are truly exceptional.

That was Jack, a longtime sports writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution who died June 1 at the age of 74. In his last years, Alzheimer’s disease cruelly dimmed his light and life.

Those of you who’ve read the AJC over the decades may remember his coverage of the Braves and Georgia Tech in particular and his overall gift as a sports writer in general. He wrote for the AJC for 24 years (1983-2007), the primary portion of a distinguished career.

Privileged to call myself a colleague of Jack’s, I recall that and more.

I met Jack shortly after my arrival at the AJC in 1998 to cover high-school sports, a job that pl

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