Charles Robert "Bob" Jordan

Charles Robert (Bob) Jordan, 83, of Athens, died Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

Bob Jordan was a happy, optimistic and energetic person. He and his wife, Sandy, shared many interests and were "the best of pals." They were very happily married for more than 60 years and greatly enjoyed their fine family. Hobbies and interests they shared included both salt and fresh water fishing and they especially enjoyed fly-fishing for trout in mountain streams. Their travels took them throughout the United States, to Mexico, South America and Canada, and to nearly every country in western and northern Europe as well as to Australia and Antarctica. Bob was an avid woodworker all of his adult life and especially so after his retirement in 1987.

Bob is survived by his wife, Sandra Brooks Jordan, of Athens and by a twin brother and his wife, Arthur C. and Mary Lee Jordan, of Homosassa, Florida. Bob and Sandy raised three sons: Thomas Robert Jordan of Athens, James Arthur Jordan of Augusta (who died December 4, 2005); and William Brooks Jordan, also of Athens. Bob was extraordinarily proud of his three sons, often remarking to others that each was, "the salt of the earth." He was equally proud of their wives who he considered to be lovely ladies and loving mothers of his seven grandchildren.

Tommy and his wife, Mary Mayes, have two sons, Charles Lesley Jordan and Benjamin Mayes Jordan. Jimmy and his wife, Laura Heaney Jordan, have three sons, Tyler Brooks Jordan, Cameron Wheeler Jordan and Spencer Alexander Jordan. Bill and his wife, Nanette Dashiell, have a son and a daughter, Andrew Everett Jordan and Brittany Grace Jordan.

Bob was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during grammar school, high school and college. His parents were Ira Clark and Lucile Hazleton Jordan. Bob and Sandy met while both were attending DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. They were married there in 1951, and graduated with A.B. degrees in 1950 and 1951, respectively. After a two-year stint in the infantry of the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he joined Dow Jones where he worked for his 35-year career as an advertising sales executive. He was a regional or national manager for 33 of those years. Bob was one of a core group of Dow Jones people who led the transition of The Wall Street Journal from a newspaper which published mostly financial advertising to a publication which became a medium for nearly every category of business and consumer advertising. Bob also had advertising sales roles for two other Dow Jones publications: The National Observer and Barron's Financial Weekly. His work took him to every center of business in the United States. He and his family lived in Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, New York City, and Los Angeles, before retiring to Marathon, Florida and finally Athens.

Wherever Bob and Sandy lived, Bob became a leader in the community, with membership in the local Rotary Club and in professional organizations related to his work. He was an active volunteer in community organizations which, in turn, offered service to others. These included the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, the United Way, Salvation Army and others. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church in the different cities to which he relocated and was a member of Freemasonry.

Bob was especially enthusiastic about "Service Above Self" through his membership in Rotary International. He was a member of the Rotary Clubs of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Marathon and Athens. He served as president of The Rotary Club of Los Angeles (1986-87), and as Rotary Governor of District 6990 (1991-92), which encompasses the three southernmost counties of eastern Florida and the island of Freeport, Bahamas. In Athens, he served as the president of The Athens Torch Club, and also as the president of Learning in Retirement.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at the First Presbyterian Church in Athens with Dr. Glenn Doak officiating. A reception will follow at the church's fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the United Hospice, 435 Hawthorne Avenue, Suite 200, Athens, GA 30606, the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.2