 Hackett suffered from Parkinsonism and his health began to fail in 1915.He took a trip to the eastern states which appeared to have benefited him; however he died suddenly on 19 February 1916 of a heart condition and was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.On 3 August 1905, Hackett married the 18-year-old Deborah Vernon Brockman (1887–1965).