Jack Jordan

Jack Jordan, of Little Rock and Monticello, Ark. passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family on Feb. 25. He was 89 years old.

Jack loved his family, his friends, golf, fishing and beating people at cards, but most of all, he loved his wife, Patsy.

Born to Hazel Leah and Floyd Edward Jordan in 1936 in Hickory Plains, Ark., Jack was always a man people wanted to know. He was determined - he worked hard and built a life to be proud of. Jack graduated from Des Arc High School and played basketball and baseball at the University of Arkansas at Monticello (formerly Arkansas A&M). It was there that he also picked up a golf club for the first time and never put it down. He holds a degree in both Physical Education and Science from UAM and a masters in School Administration from the University of Arkansas. He was a member and deacon of the First Baptist Church of Monticello.

It was at UAM that he met Patsy Granderson Jordan, his wife of 68 years. They married in 1958 and were a match so made in heaven; they share the same birthdate - November 29. Jack and Patsy have two daughters - Melodie Jordan Philhours and Leslie Jordan, who they couldn't have been prouder of.

Jack was a veteran of the Army National Guard. He was also an avid sportsman. He was an ace on the golf course being named Arkansas State Golf Association's Senior Player of the Year multiple times and was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame in 2006. He loved crappie fishing and he loved his river buddies.

Jack touched so many people through his career - he was a basketball coach, biology teacher, school bus driver, high school principal and superintendent at Star City School District. He was the also the superintendent of DeWitt School District and Monticello School District. He mentored so many people on the golf course making some better golfers and all have a good time. He taught his grandchildren the important things in life … how to shoot a layup, ride a bike, do a backflip off the diving board and talk an appropriate amount of trash … but also the importance of hard work, being a good sport and being kind.

Jack is preceded in death by his parents, Hazel and Floyd; his brother, Billy Hill; and an infant daughter, Jacquelyn Ann. He is survived by his wife, Patsy, of Little Rock; his daughters, Melodie Jordan Philhours and her husband, Randy, of Paragould, Ark., and Leslie Jordan and her husband, Jon Beatty, of Prairie Grove, Ark.; four grandchildren, Jordan, Molly, Olivia and John; and four great-grandchildren, Caroline, Franklin, Hattie and Jack; along with countless lucky enough to call him friend.