Jordan was born at home in Wartrace, Tennessee on the afternoon of June 18, 1992. On July 1, 1992, Jordan’s family moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia and then to Jonesboro, Georgia in 1994. It was in Jonesboro that his brother Julian was born on December 23, 1995. Jordan learned to read at a young age, along with his older brothers, Gabriel and Garrison, who were being home schooled by their mother at the time.
In January of 1997 Jordan’s family returned to Tennessee. They lived in Antioch for three years where Jordan started school at Tusculum Elementary. On December 10, 1999, the family moved to Mount Juliet and Jordan transferred to Mount Juliet Elementary in January of 2000. He played little league baseball through most of his elementary and middle school years. Jordan was extremely competitive and did not care for losing. He was also an excellent student. While attending Mount Juliet Elementary he and his brother Garrison had roles in the stage play Annie.
In August of 2002 Jordan’s family went to Honduras for eight months where his mother taught school and the children had an opportunity to learn Spanish. Jordan attended 4th. grade at Escuela El Alba Bilingua in Siguatepeque, Honduras. During this time he visited Guatemala, San Pedro Sula, Copan and Tela. While in Copan he toured the ancient Mayan ruins and sampled local delicacies such as hot corn on the cob slathered with mayonnaise. Jordan and his brothers spent countless hours playing soccer (futbol) against local competition and became very good at it. His older brothers continued to play soccer throughout high school and into college but Jordan went back to baseball after returning to Mount Juliet in April of 2003. A few months later, on September 7, Jordan welcomed the birth of his little sister Cara at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee.
In June of 2006 Jordan’s family went to Memphis so his mother could work on her PhD at the University of Memphis. During that year Jordan attended Central High School – the oldest high school in Memphis and the alma mater of several notable figures, including the founder of Holiday Inn and famous gangster George Machine Gun Kelly. Jordan played baseball at Central and also played for a travel team in Southaven, Mississippi. During one tournament in Greenwood Jordan visited the gravesite of blues legend Robert Johnson and the general store in Money, Mississippi where the Emmett Till episode originated and became a major chapter in the history of the civil rights movement.
Jordan, at a young age, had a fascination with Alexander the Great and read several of his biographies.
On July 6, 2007 Jordan and his family left Memphis in route to Haifa, Israel to participate in the Baha’i Pilgrimage. This trip took Jordan to Washington, D.C., Boston, Milan, Tel Aviv and finally to Haifa where he spent nine days visiting the Baha’i World Center and other sites in Acca, passing the road to Nazareth between Haifa and Acca.
In late July 2007 Jordan returned to Mount Juliet where he started his sophomore year in high school. He played on the high school baseball team for two years and scored the winning run in the state semi-final playoff game in 2009 against Bartlett High School. After his junior year Jordan decided not to continue baseball. He took up long-distance running instead.
Jordan was a devoted member of the Baha’i Faith. He prayed and studied Baha’i scriptures daily. This disciplined approach to his personal spiritual development defined how he lived his life. He was determined and hard working at everything he did. He participated in Baha’i youth activities throughout his childhood. In the summer of 2008 he spent a month doing Baha’i service work in Alabama and Florida. Jordan always exhibited love and kindness toward others. He tried to see the best in people. As a result of his Baha’i upbringing he understood that all people are his brothers and sisters in the human family. This firm belief defined how he treated others – wherever he traveled in the world.
Jordan visited his brother Garrison at Columbia University in New York City in October of 2009. The morning after returning home he finished his morning run in Mount Juliet and commented that he had run in Manhattan and Mount Juliet, both within the same 24 hour period.
On April 28, 2010 Jordan completed the 26 mile Nashville Country Music Marathon in 3 hours and 31 minutes, a time that would have qualified him for some of the top marathons in the country. He never stopped during the race, and, even though he was in total agony afterward, he went out to run in Mount Juliet the very next morning.
Jordan graduated from Mount Juliet High School in the top 10% of his class in May of 2010. He was offered a scholarship to attend Temple University in Philadelphia but chose to stay in Tennessee where he enrolled at MTSU in August of 2010.
Jordan passed away on December 2, 2010 at age 18. Three days later approximately 700 relatives, friends and neighbors attended his memorial service. Jordan is buried at Mount Juliet Memorial Gardens where his parents visit at least weekly.
There is so much more we could say about this remarkable young man and the life he lived. These are only a few of the highlights. We miss him with all our hearts. But for reasons we cannot grasp, God needed him for work beyond this life. It is a hard sacrifice to make for those of us who love and cherish him. But through Jordan’s example of unwavering devotion to excellence, we will do everything possible to honor his life and the precious memories he left us.
*Written on behalf of Jordan’s parents, brothers, sisters and his dear friend Iris.
Craig and Carmen Turner, Stanley, Maya, Gabriel, Garrison, Julian, Cara, Byron