James Randolph Jordan

James Randolph "Jim" Jordan March 14, 1945 - November 28, 2025
James Randolph "Jim" Jordan, age 80, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, passed away on Friday, November 28th, at home surrounded by his family after fighting a valiant battle with B-cell lymphoma.
Jim was born on March 14, 1945, in Fordyce, Arkansas, to George William (Jud) Jordan and Ruth Abernathy Jordan and grew up in Camden. He graduated from Camden High School, where he was an outstanding all-around athlete. Jim was All-District for two years and All-State his senior year as quarterback for the Camden Panthers. He also earned All-District honors in basketball and set a Camden High School pole vault record of 12' 5¾" using a steel pole.
Jim's passion for sports continued beyond high school. He initially signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Oklahoma State University, but ultimately chose to stay closer to home and attend Ouachita Baptist University. There, he excelled as a multi-sport athlete. He lettered all four years in football, and his senior season in 1966 was exceptional. That year he set four AIC records-for passing yardage, completions, total offense, and the longest punt-and led the Tigers to their first AIC football championship. He was named All-AIC and Honorable Mention All-American. Jim also played shortstop for Ouachita's baseball team and earned All-AIC honors for two years. He received the Elmo Chaney Award in 1966 as OBU's best all-around athlete. Though drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1965, Jim chose to stay at OBU to complete his degree.
After graduation, Jim began his coaching career at Hope High School and later at Wynne High School, where he served as head coach in 1971 and 1972 and earned District Coach of the Year in 1972. His lifelong involvement in athletics continued through 39 years as a basketball and football official. He was inducted into the Arkansas Officials Hall of Fame in 2008. Among the distinctions he treasured most was participating in the Arkansas All-Star Football Game as a player in 1963, a coach in 1973, and an official in 1995-an accomplishment believed to be unique in the state. Jim was also a passionate golfer and celebrated an impressive eleven holes-in-one.
Jim transitioned into banking in 1973, beginning at Cross County Bank in Wynne, followed by positions with First National Bank of Fordyce and Bank of Trumann. In 1980, he graduated from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. In 1986, he returned to Camden to join Merchants & Planters Bank, N.A. (later BancorpSouth and now Cadence Bank), where he served as bank president for twenty years.
Jim was deeply committed to his community. He served on the board of Arkansas Capital Corp, was president of the Camden Rotary Club-where he was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow-and served on the boards of Southern Arkansas University Tech and the SAU Foundation. He received the SAU Tech Distinguished Service Award in 2010. Jim also faithfully served his church as a Sunday School teacher.
Above all, Jim cherished his family and the Lord. He is survived by his wife of fifty-eight years, Janis; his children, Keri Jordan Bone (Mike) and Matt Jordan; and his grandchildren, Jordan "Jordie" Wallace (Jonathan) and Will Jordan. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, George Jordan.
A celebration of Jim's life will be held at 1pm on Friday, December 19th at First United Methodist Church on Central Avenue in Hot Springs. Visitation will take place from 12pm - 1pm at the church prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church of Hot Springs, Arkansas Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or The Twentieth Century Club Lodge in Little Rock, which serves cancer patients and their caregivers.