Dixon funeral home director known for his caring demeanor
BY PHIL HARTMAN
SVN REPORTER
phartman@svnmail.com
Raymond Jordan cared for his community and his friends, in life as well as death.
He began working as a mortician in 1946, and for 50 years, owned Chapel Hill Memorial Park and Funeral Home in Dixon.
His compassion and attention to detail inspired other members of the field - and led him to his best friend.
Raymond Jordan died July 26, 2007, at Amboy Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; he was 85.
Joe McDonald, owner of McDonald Funeral Homes, met Jordan in 1980, when Jordan arranged for the burials of McDonald's great-grandparents.
"My grandparents had trust in him. After I had decided to pursue that profession myself, I had met Mr. Jordan a couple times when assisting with funerals, and got to know him even further after coming back from college myself. He always seemed to be a man on top of things, in tune with what was going on around him," McDonald said.
He was a quiet man who joined Dixon organizations to help the community, said his son, Tim Jordan, of Dixon
"He went every year to a kids' horseback riding camp in Rock Falls, and did all the Candy Days for the Lions. They sell candy for a fundraiser. He was the president of the Lions, I believe twice," his son said.
He also was a Boy Scout volunteer, and traveled with them to Mexico and Guatemala in the 1960s.
"We took a group of about 25 Scouts into Mexico and Guatemala for about 30 days," said Ed Pierce, a longtime friend who served on the same Boy Scout committee as Jordan.
Ed, in fact, was Raymond's best friend, said Dick Pierce, Ed's son.
"What brought them together was that my youngest brother (Gerald) died at the age of 22 months. Their then-youngest son, Todd, died in Ray's arms at the age of 2," Dick Pierce said.
Jordan handled Gerald's funeral, then hired Lorraine Pierce, Ed's wife, to work at Chapel Hill. Raymond and Mary Jordan became his "deputy parents," Dick Pierce said.
"He was a good cook," Dick Pierce said. "The Pierces and Jordans were like one big family. Sometimes dinner was at our place, and sometimes it was at theirs."
