Joseph F. Jordan, Jr. |
| Posted 2021-04-30 by mhenderson |
| Published by Arizona Daily Sun on Apr. 25, 2021 - Flagstaff, Arizona - Joseph F. Jordan, Jr, 90, died in Flagstaff on April 18, 2021. Joe was born in Pasadena, California to Joseph F. Jordan and Marcella Knapp Jordan. He graduated from Pasadena City College and UCLA, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Gamma fraternity. A naval veteran of the Korean war, Joe enjoyed connecting with his naval shipmates until the time of his death. He married Nancy Gean Shryock on December 26, 1952. He began a publishing career which included time with Prentice-Hall, John Wiley & Sons, Longman Publishing and his own company, Exceptional Press. He raised his family in Glen Ridge, New Jersey where he was a Member of the Borough Council and coached the Demons Rec League Baseball team to a championship season. After moving to Dana Point, California, Joe and Nancy ultimately settled in his beloved Flagstaff, Arizona where he enthusiastically immersed himself in the community. Some highlights of his activities include winning countless Blue Ribbons at the Coconino County Fair for his prized Vegetables and numerous Senior Olympic medals at the Flagstaff Joe C. Montoya Community & Senior Center where he also taught ballroom dancing. Because Joe loved history, archaeology and geocaching, becoming a site steward to help protect Arizona's incomparable archaeological and historical resources was a natural choice. Not only did he and Nancy thoroughly enjoy their activities as site stewards, Joe also received two prestigious awards for this work. First, he was named the 2005 Northern Area Site Steward of the Year and together with Nancy received the 2018 Governor's Archeology Advisory Commission Award for Public Archeology. On April 18, 2021, Joe shared his final words of wisdom gleaned from his two decades of service as a site steward with an attentive audience of new and longtime friends and fellow stewards. He sat in his favorite chair at his favorite ancient pueblo, the Meteor Site, with Nancy, his wife of 68 years by his side. He had just finished his lecture about the history of this special place. After big smiles and some laughs, Joe sat down, closed his eyes and peacefully fell asleep forever. Joe is survived by his wife, Nancy; his sister, Laurie Jordan Carlson; his sons Jeff (Lynn) Jordan ; Jim (Margo) Jordan; Joe (Janice)Jordan; his daughters Sue (Keith Johnson) Jordan, Julie JordanScott; his grandchildren, Meagan (Daniel) Guzman; Dylan (Melissa) Whitehead; Brittany (Adam Bemis) Whitehead; Bonney (Lou Patrick) Johnson; Katherine (Donald Kirschner) Scott-Kirschner; Emma Scott, Samuel Scott; Jahna Jordan, Joey Jordan; Isabella Carle; Great-Grandchildren Paloma Whitehead; Michael Whitehead; Jack Whitehead; Hal Patrick; Jordan Bemis. He was pre-deceased by his parents, sisters Connie (Norman) Macleod and Joyce (Charles) Kuyk; his son, John; his granddaughter, Marlena Scott. A celebration of life is planned on the afternoon of May 17, 2021. More details will follow. Memories and condolences can be shared with the family at norvelowensmortuary.com. |
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