Haverhill High School to Plant a Tree in Memory of Jordan Rankin Nov. 6

Jordan Rankin received the "Key to Success" as the player of the game during her last field hockey game on the night of the accident, her family said. (Courtesy photograph/Marilyn Caradonna)

Hillie Nation is again coming together to remember Jordan Rankin, the Haverhill High School student-athlete who died in September 2018 from injuries sustained in a car accident—this time honoring her memory with the planting of a tree at the entrance to the Sapienza Memorial Track.

Mayor James J. Fiorentini, Haverhill High Principal Glenn Burns and members of the Rankin family will join Jordan’s classmates and the school community as a six- to eight-foot bald cypress tree is planted in memory of the 17-year-old lacrosse and field hockey standout Wednesday, Nov. 6. The public is invited to the 3:30 p.m. ceremony.

Chatting with WHAV in September ahead of the first anniversary of his daughter’s death, John Rankin said his family leans on the community’s support as they continue to grieve her sudden loss.

“I don’t think there’s anywhere we go where someone doesn’t come up to us and ask how we’re doing,” John Rankin said. “I think it’s important not only for us, but it’s good for them to see that we’re out and about living our lives and going on and remembering Jordan instead of not doing anything.”

The Hillie school community has been especially embracing to the Rankins, planning “red-outs” to honor Jordan by wearing her favorite color at sporting events, and collecting money for a scholarship fund in her name. In 2018, eight students were able to defray college costs through money received from the Jordan Rankin Scholarship Fund.

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