Honoring Orono's Superfan Jordan Jaekel

On Monday, May 20th, Orono suddenly and unexpectedly lost our favorite Superfan, Jordan Jaekel.

Jordan was a 2018 graduate of Orono High School, a talented and competitive ping pong player who, after graduation, remained a constant and enthusiastic supporter of Orono Athletics- both Men's and Women's teams. He was readily visible at most events, wearing his signature cowboy hat and carrying 2-3 vinyl records - eager to discuss the music details with any interested party. If you were lucky enough to sit near him at a game, he could recite the lyrics of every song playing on the loud speaker , rattle off facts on any musical group - while never missing a play in the game.

We called Jordan the Orono Superfan. He rarely missed home games - and would spend hours on the sports fields and in the rinks. He wore Orono jerseys and spent the period breaks discussing music with fellow hockey fans and parents, anxiously waiting for an interview by the "Lew Crew" - which was one of his highlights of the hockey season.

Jordan loved his family, music concerts, ships of the Great Lakes, and ping pong, He also loved the Orono community. In the face of Autism, his strengths were love, loyalty and consistency; his weaknesses were sensitivity and impulsivity. As everyone does, he wanted to be loved and to belong - and he was loved and did belong to our Orono community.

In honor of the love and support Jordan gave to us, we want to support his family to help defray the cost of the funeral or build a memorial, helping to lighten the family's load in the next few months. Most importantly, we want to honor the kind, generous and loving spirit of Orono's best Superfan, Jordan Jaekel.