John "Jack" Holden
John "Jack" Holden
John Holden, often remembered as "Jack", was a hiking enthusiast who also had a passion for teaching children. He was also a DJ and an avid Soccer Referee. [undefined] [10]
Background
Jack was born and raised in Jefferson, Massachusetts as the youngest son to parents Ed and Sally (Rautenberg) Holden. He had an older sister, Kate, and an older brother, Seth. He had two nephews and a niece. [undefined]
Growing up he had interests in a diverse field of subjects, including music and the outdoors.
He played the Violin as a kid and played in his schools ensembles since the 6th grade. He also became a boy scout and earned the high honor of the Eagle Scout at the age of 17. He graduated from Wachusett Regional High School in 2008 where he continued to play violin, and became a part of many extra-curricular activities including Soccer. [undefined] [undefined]
Education
He attended the Isenberg School of Management at University of Massachusetts Amherst and graduated in 2012 with high honors in Business and finance. His college years included one full semester at Oxford University in England and 72 days with the National Outdoor Leadership Training in the Yukon. [undefined]
He was set to start his graduate program at Fitchburg State University to earn his licensure in Elementary Education. [undefined]
Hiking Accident
On Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2016, Jack had texted his parents telling them that he was going up a hike in Lincoln, New Hampshire and that he would return by the evening. Unfortunately for his family, he died hiking the summit of Bondcliff. [undefined]
When they found him, his jacket was unzipped and upside down, as if hypothermia had beset him, leaving him confused.
He had not deployed his beacon.
He may have thought he could save himself.
The temperature was around 30 to 35 degrees with 3 to 4 inches of wet snow fell.
He had the proper gear: winter hiking pants, a head lamp, crampons, layers and layers of fleece, a puffy jacket, the shell jacket rescuers would later find he had put on upside down.
Experts say it is likely Holden made it all the way out to the far point of his trek and was on his way back when he got into trouble.
He had likely gotten wetter and wetter as the day wore on and as darkness fell along with the temperature, Hypothermia probably set in, he said, though the cause of death will be determined by an autopsy. [undefined]
Jack never made a distress call and it did not look like he had hunkered down in the spot where rescuers found his body, either.
He was likely still moving when he fell, trying to get himself off the summit.
The tree line, below which he would be able to find more cover, was only a few hundred yards away from where his body was found.
Personal Life
He was a passionate soccer player and played many years with the Holden Youth Soccer program.
He later played goalie for an adult league and referee on the weekends.
People in the community and his family recall his generosity and gentleness.
As part of his eagle scout project, he collected soccer equipment to donate to a struggling town on Cape Cod, where kids would not have had a soccer season without his generosity.