Family physician Richard Jordan, 75, stricken at work
Dr. Richard A. Jordan, 75, Corydon, died Saturday, Dec. 28, at Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville, one day after he slumped at his office desk, the victim of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
He was at work and insisted that he was all right. “He was doing what he loved,” said his daughter-in-law, Eve Ann Jordan. Immediate emergency surgery could not help, said his wife, Frances.
Jordan was a family practitioner for many years, first in Corydon and then in a group practice in Jeffersonville. He was a Navy veteran of World War II, and a member of Pisgah Lodge 32 Free and Accepted Masons, Scottish Rite, the Old Capital Golf Club, and the Corydon Presbyterian Church.
“He was the kind of guy we’d all like to be,” said his close friend, Keith Reising of Corydon, who went to grade and high school with Jordan and was in service with him at the Great Lakes Naval Station outside Chicago.
“He was a first-class chap,” Reising said. “He was always there when you needed him, and a lot of fun to be around.”
Jordan returned to Corydon in 1958 to practice family medicine with the late Sam Martin. Both had served residencies in the miners union hospital in Beckley, W.Va.
Jordan graduated from Corydon High School in 1945, and then attended Indiana University, earning a degree in biology. He graduated from Indiana University Medical School in 1954.
“He was a good doctor,” said his friend and colleague, Dr. Wilfred J. Brockman, 83, who retired as a family physician in 1991 after a 41-year career in Corydon. “He would mind the store. People would call him and he’d respond. He had a great bedside manner. He was conscientous and honest. Always nice to be around.”
A native of New Albany, born Sept. 2, 1927, Jordan was the son of the late Allen and Olive Funk Jordan. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Allison, who died in 1971 at the age of 6.
Survivors include his wife, the former Frances Dunford; three sons, Dr. Curt Jordan of New Albany, Greg Jordan of Jeffersonville, and Jay Jordan of Bardstown, Ky., and five grandchildren.
The funeral was Monday at Beanblossom-Cesar Funeral Home in Corydon with burial in Cedar Hill Cemetery. The Rev. James Willbanks officiated. A Masonic service was held Sunday at the funeral home.
Pallbearers were Jerry Uhl, Ken Bickett, Roger Ashton, Keith Reising, Bill Walpert and Thomas Funk. Honorary pallbearers were Darrel Rothrock and Jim Jordan.
The family suggests memorial gifts to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
