Close friends and family made the trip from far and wide to share anecdotes of adventures and cherished moments.

"As Jack's son, I am proud to be here with everyone," Henry said in a tearful tribute to his dad.

"In the end, he would have wanted everyone to celebrate his life, so don't be sad, he would have wanted you to be happy."

"It is an impossible task to fit Jack's life into a memorial," Jack's brother Rusty Russell said.

"There will be many people who know that Jack was having a tough time over the past couple of years.

"But the Jack of recent times was back. He was enjoying life with his kids and his adventures at work.

"His passion was back for flying. He loved doing what he did and he loved doing it in this country."

The body of the Katherine father of two, 48, was recovered from the Victoria River this week following an extensive search.

It is believed Mr Russell was in the process of taking off from the Timber Creek airstrip, when his gyrocopter contacted overhead electrical cables.

NT Police and Emergency Services embarked on a multi-day search of the area which included police divers using a cage to search the crocodile-infested river.

Described as an adventurous man who was "kind, loyal and a lot of fun", Jack was the father to Henry and Georgina Russell.

Travelling from Sydney where he works as a heart surgeon, Jack's childhood friend of more than 40 years, Mike Vallely said the pair became "fast friends" despite being polar opposites.

"There are some people who come into your life and change it for the better,and that was Jack," he said.

"Jack and I lived on opposite sides of the country, however we were in constant contact and we managed to see each other often.

"We've both had tough times recently and have been a source of comfort for each other.

"I've had some of the best times of my life with Jack, but today is one of the worst.

"My heart is broken and I don't know how to fix it."

Born in 1970, Jack attended boarding school in Victoria, from the age of 12.

Leaving in year 10, he headed to the Kimberly where his love affair with Northern Australia began, Rusty Russell said as part of an Eulogy.

"By the time Jack had turned 18 he'd done it all. He played hard and worked hard," he said.

A jack of all trades, he dabbled and excelled in a range of roles from a station manager, tree surgeon, crane driver and road train driver to working as an aerial musterer and a bush mechanic.

"Jack's knowledge and experience will be missed by industry," Rusty Russell said.

"He was most at home in the cattle yard and in the paddock with some of the rougher end of town."

Jack married Gill in 2006, travelling across Australia before moving to Katherine.

"We did not choose for Jack to die at Timber Creek," Rusty Russell said.

"We did not choose for Jack to leave us in this terrible tragedy.

"We did not choose for Jack to not be with us today.

"Yet it is our choice how we remember Jack, how we move on and how we look after each other and support each other.

"We will cry and our hearts will ache.

"But we must choose to celebrate the good and not get stuck in the bad."

The memorial service, held at the Katherine Low Level Nature Reserve was followed by a gathering at the Katherine Country Club.

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