Freda May Jordan

Freda May Jordan was born March 20, 1913, in Redwood Falls, MN, to Florence Baker Laudon and Judge Alfred Robert Adolph Laudon. She died January 9, 2006, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A wonderful parent, self-sufficient outdoors woman, and accomplished athlete with a down-to-earth sense of humor, she started life with characteristic efficiency, skipping second grade and requiring only four years to complete both bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology from the University of Minnesota. She married Richard C. Jordan in 1935 and worked for the State of Minnesota as a psychologist until starting a family in 1940. Freda was devoted to her three daughters and to her husband, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. For many years, she was a creative and dedicated Girl Scout Leader and was elected President of the University of Minnesota Faculty Women's Club. She and Richard enjoyed traveling to all parts of the world, beginning with their honeymoon trip by automobile to Mexico, and she delighted in testing her linguistic abilities in areas where little English was spoken. As her children finished high school, she worked as a school psychologist in the Minneapolis Public Schools, and in retirement, she became an outstanding golfer. Freda and her late husband moved to Rio Verde, AZ in 1987, and she moved to Albuquerque in 2003. Her common sense and love will be missed by her daughters and their families: Mary Ann Jordan and husband David Johnson of Santa Barbara, CA; Carol Wawersik and husband Wolfgang of Albuquerque, NM; Linda Cogdill and husband John of Bethesda, MD; as well as by her grandchildren, Andrea Lommen and husband Steve Carlson of Lancaster, PA, Kate Lommen and fiancé Peter Hickey of Somerville, MA, Stefan Wawersik and wife Heidi Rehm of Waltham, MA and Matthew Wawersik and wife Lauri of Williamsburg, VA. She is also survived by four great-grand-daughters: Rose and Xyla Lommen Carlson, Christiana Rehm Wawersik and Hannah Jordan Wawersik. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be sent to the Freda Jordan Scholarship Endowment (#7157) at the University of Minnesota Foundation, 200 Oak St. SE, Suite 500, Mpls. MN, 55455-2010.
This obituary was originally published in the Star Tribune.