WASHINGTON — Hannah Graham’s parents, John and Sue Graham of Alexandria, face a painful future after the remains found in Virginia on Friday were confirmed to be those of their daughter. It’s pain that Gil and Dan Harrington have borne for five years, since their daughter Morgan’s remains were found on a Charlottesville farm, not far from Hannah’s remains.
The Harringtons have comforted the Grahams several times since Hannah Graham disappeared Sept. 13. And Gil Harrington says the end of the girls’ brief lives is a loss to the world.
Morgan Harrington planned to become a teacher; Hannah Graham wanted a career in global public health. “Those girls were going to really contribute to the general good,” Gil Harrington says.
So how can parents move on? Harrington says parents whose children’s lives are taken find different ways of coping. For the Harringtons, it’s a life devoted to service in memory of their daughter.
Their foundation, Help Save the Next Girl, raises young women’s awareness to predatory danger. They also help provide education and medical care in Zambia in memory of Morgan.
“We have taken a hell of a hit,” Gil Harrington says. “But we choose not to cower in a corner, or go upstairs and pull the duvet over our head. Because if we did that, then he would win.”
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
