Coach Ruben Jordan
Photo by Stuart Villanueva/Galveston County The Daily News
Hurricane Harvey and its widespread impact has claimed almost 30 lives in Texas, and the count is climbing. Regretfully for the Texas high school running community, it has also claimed the life of one of our own. Recent retiree and longtime Clear Creek track and field coach Ruben Jordan died while driving his truck. He was 58 years old.
Doing what we do at Texas MileSplit, we have the privilege to meet countless student-athletes, parents, timers, and coaches. It is a community, and sometimes it seems like fraternity, and most times it feels like a family. Coach Jordan, was one of those many that we've met over the years.This week, we lost one of our many important running community and family members.
Coach Jordan's son, Roger Lee, posted on Facebook that his father was last seen around midnight driving in the south Houston area around I-45 and Edgebrook Drive, per The Daily News. Lee had no contact with his father since Saturday evening, and there was no indication that he had made his way to his home.
As with so many other instances during the time brought on by Hurricane Harvey, family members and friends turned to social media to solicit help finding immediate assistance in rescuing and searching for missing persons. A similar social media post was made Tuesday morning, reporting that coach Jordan was missing.
According to The Daily News, it was later Tuesday evening that the Friendswood Police Department gave confirmation of coach Jordan's death.
Clear Creek High School is southeast of Houston and very close to Galveston Island. Coach Jordan taught and coached at Clear Creek for 29 of his 34 years there. He retired after the 2015-2016 season, but still maintained many relationships that were cultivated through his teaching and coaching background, and he also mentored thousands of students and athletes.
Our condolences go out to coach Jordan's family and the Clear Creek community.
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