He was the tall kid who everyone looked up to in more ways than one. His smile could easily be seen as he walked down the halls of Blooming Prairie High School high-fiving and hugging everyone in his path. He loved golf and basketball and was always ready to debate his belief that the Texas Longhorns are the best athletic team on Earth.

Jordan Michael Ressler, 16, of Blooming Prairie, died Saturday after a three-vehicle accident sent him to Saint Marys Hospital in critical condition Friday evening.

“Jordan always had a smile,” Mary Worke, Blooming Prairie school counselor said. “He could always make everybody feel like they were special. He loved and talked to everybody; it didn’t matter who you were.”

John Bruns, Blooming Prairie Boys’ Basketball coach, said Ressler was fun-loving, talented and friendly.

“There wasn’t a person he passed in the hall without making them smile,” Bruns said. “You would never see him mad, never see him complaining.”

Bruns said Ressler, who was in 11th grade, would have played on the varsity basketball team this coming season.

Nathan Pillar, B-squad basketball coach, said Ressler was a goofball and a joy to have on the basketball team.

“He had so much going for him,” Pillar said. “It’s hard to see that taken away. There’s no rationalizing it. Those kids were doing so many things right, going to support their team and wearing their seatbelts.”

“He’s one of the kids that you’re just proud to have on your team. He’s the kid that you’re proud of on and off the (basketball) court,” he added.

Teachers and coaches aren’t the only people who are going to miss Ressler, though. His teammates will also miss his smile and his jokes.

Dylan Hatch, a senior at BPHS, became good friends with Ressler during spring golf team trips to Texas.

“Every day is just so fun with him. If you were having a bad day, he’d definitely turn that around,” Hatch said. “Golf is going to be the toughest thing.”

Hatch described Ressler as a goofball, someone who was always lightening the mood and showing people love.

Not to mention, Ressler was delightfully quirky.

“He loved ping-pong,” Hatch said, smiling at the thought of a particularly memorable ping-pong match between the two. “He’s so competitive, but not overly competitive to where it’s not fun. He was always happy.”