Jim Jordan
elevated OTrPg August 3, 1939 – August 13, 2024
elevated OTrPg Visitation
Tuesday August 20, 2024 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm
Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, Ontario, L3T 3Z6
elevated OTrPg Funeral Mass
Wednesday August 21, 2024 at 10:30 am-Chapel of St. Joseph
Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, Ontario, L3T 3Z6
elevated OTrPg To view Funeral Mass Click Here
elevated OTrPg Reception
Following Funeral Mass, Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
elevated OTrPg Interment
Christ the King Catholic Cemetery
7770 Steeles Ave E, Markham, ON, L6B 1A8
Obituary
elevated OTrPg “Tell them how blessed I was.”~ Jim, the night before he died
elevated OTrPg “Cheerful in all weathers. Never shirked a task. Splendid behavior.”~ from Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
elevated OTrPg It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of James (Jim) Michael Jordan, on August 13, 2024 in Toronto. Jim believed that God put him on earth to do good; and it is a task he executed to perfection.
elevated OTrPg Beloved son of Irene (Walker) and William Jordan, Jim was born on August 3, 1939 in High River, Alberta. The fourth of eight siblings, Jim spent the first 10 years of his life in the nearby hamlet of Blackie, the backdrop for many vivid, happy childhood memories that he recounted often to the delight of his children and grandchildren.
elevated OTrPg Jim’s teenage years unfolded in Calgary, where he was a legendary quarterback of the St. Mary’s High School football team, earning the award for Canadian high school athlete of the year in 1957. Jim was also a gifted hockey player; he played for many years in both Blackie and Calgary and his love of the game and the Calgary Flames was a lifelong obsession. (In his later years, every year for Christmas, he would be gifted what his family jokingly referred to as “The Bible”—that is, the NHL’s annual Official Guide and Record Book, which his children knew to treat with as much reverence as the actual bible.)
elevated OTrPg Following high school, Jim reluctantly decided to enter the seminary when no other vocation seemed a match for his restless ambition. Despite a sense of unease with that decision from the start, Jim’s desire to do something significant with his life and belief in always following through led to a 17-year commitment to the priesthood, beginning in 1965. During this time, Jim provided pastoral care to thousands of people in communities all over Alberta, including Calgary (St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Anthony’s Parish, St. Gerard’s, Bishop Grandin High School), Milk River, Coutts, Warner, Medicine Hat, and others.
elevated OTrPg Despite his clear gift for ministry, the seed of doubt about his chosen path continued to grow and in 1982, Jim left the priesthood at the age of 43. Around this time, a chance encounter with Margaret (Maggie) McAllister would soon infuse Jim’s life with the passion and fulfillment that he had always felt was missing. Jim and Maggie fell deeply in love; they are the very definition of “soulmates”. Maggie was already a single mother to Alex, and after marrying, they welcomed daughters Clara, Elizabeth (“Lizzie”, a child in the care of Children’s Aid who they fostered for several years and formally adopted in 1992), and Kate. “Fatherman”, as his kids lovingly referred to him, became a parent to four children in five years, and he relished every single moment of fatherhood. Jim was a lover of language and could quote Tennyson and Shakespeare with enviable eloquence, but the phrase he quoted the most in his final days came from a decorative ornament given to him by Kate one Father’s Day, which reads: “The greatest gift I ever had came from God; l call him Dad.”
elevated OTrPg Jim was not much of a cook, except when it came to Sunday breakfasts (waffles and crispy bacon were his specialties) and his legendary made-from-scratch chocolate birthday cakes, which he stuffed with meticulously wrapped toonies and loonies and delivered without fail for every birthday in the Jordan household until each kid turned 30! In this and a myriad of other big and small ways, Jim demonstrated a devotion to family with joy and delight that was both admirable and infectious.
elevated OTrPg As Jim embraced his new life as a husband and father, he simultaneously embarked on a remarkable career that was seemingly destined for the boy from Blackie with a preternatural love of sport. Following a successful tenure as Executive Director of the 1986 Special Olympics Canada National Games in Calgary (a job he landed with an assist from good friends and past parishioners, Don and Brenda-Ann Taylor), Jim was recruited to be the Executive Director of Special Olympics Ontario. He and Maggie embraced the opportunity and, with a sense of adventure and their signature, unstinting optimism, left everyone and everything they loved in Calgary behind and embarked on a new life in Ontario. A few years later, Jim took the helm as the President of Special Olympics Canada, a position he held from 1990 to 2005, and later the President of the Special Olympics Canada Foundation, where he remained until his retirement in 2008.
elevated OTrPg Presiding over the 30,000+ athletes, coaches and volunteers that make up Special Olympics Canada was one of the great joys of Jim’s life and was also the birthplace of many dear and lasting friendships. By sheer coincidence, it also became a deeply personal mission when it was revealed that Lizzie had a developmental disability. Lizzie will always be Jim’s most beloved Special Olympian.
elevated OTrPg To understand Jim’s profound love and commitment to Special Olympics Canada, one need look no further than to the book he penned about the movement and its evolution in celebration of its 40th anniversary, called Make No Small Plans. The book was a labour of love that Jim decided to undertake because he instinctively understood the power of memory to both inform and inspire future generations.
elevated OTrPg When Jim’s own father died, someone said of him at the funeral: “Today we will bury the most unselfish man I ever met.” Jim aspired to be the kind of person that could live up to that epithet, and he nailed it. His passing leaves an enormous and unfillable hole in the lives of all who loved this most incredible man, who valued people over ideals and lived every day of his 85 years with compassion, optimism and a child-like wonder of the world and its many mysteries until the very end. He was so many things to so many people.
elevated OTrPg Jim is survived by his devoted wife of 42 years, Maggie; his children, Alex (and Lara), Clara (and Su-Eong), Lizzie, and Kate (and Corey); his seven grandchildren, whom he treasured and who adored him in return: Joy, Gloria, Scarlett, Joe, Juliet, Eve and Nathan; siblings, Margie, Mary, Renie, Barb and Tony; in-laws Dallas Thill and Karen Jordan, John, Dan, Helen and Donna McAllister, Jennifer Holden, Brian and Cecile McEachen; numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom he cherished, especially Sean and Mark (and Julie) Jordan; dear friend, Fr. Eric Nelson, and many other treasured friends, neighbours and colleagues. He is predeceased by his mother Irene, father William, brothers Bill and Pat, in-laws Tom Connolly, Max Wilke, Gordon Dunnette, Tom Sr. and Clara, Tom, Peter and Paul McAllister; nephews David Dunnette and Kyle Blais; lifelong inestimable friend, Fr. Dennis McDonald, and many other loved ones whose absences he felt keenly.
elevated OTrPg If friends and loved ones so desire, memorial donations may be made to Special Olympics Canada, Scarborough Health Network Foundation, or Markham Stouffville Hospital. Jim’s family wishes to extend their gratitude to the staff of the Coronary Care Unit at Scarborough Centenary Hospital for the exemplary and compassionate care he received in his final days.
elevated OTrPg Visitation will take place at Holy Cross Funeral Home (211 Langstaff Rd E, Thornhill, Ontario) on Tuesday, August 20 from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm, with formal remarks about Jim taking place from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Those in attendance who wish to say a few words about Jim are most welcome to speak at this time.
elevated OTrPg Funeral mass will be held at Holy Cross Chapel with Fr. Sherwin Holandez presiding on Wednesday, August 21 at 10:30 am. A reception will follow in the same location. The mass will be streamed virtually for those who are unable to attend in person.
elevated OTrPg Interment will take place at Christ the King Catholic Cemetery (7770 Steeles Ave E, Markham) following the reception. All who wish to attend are welcome.
Fare thee well my dear uncle. I will always cherish the fondest of memories of your warm, kind, and sparkling nature. Thank you for being so good to me in the wake of my father’s passing and onward into my adult life as I struggled with isolation and mental illness. I will never forget the warmth and care you always bestowed on me.
My deepest sympathy and condolences. It was a privilege to have known and spent time with Jim.He was a a kind hearted and amazing man, who accompanied our group to the Special Olympics. His support and time given at our Bocce Tournament in Michigan, with Elizabeth, will be a memory I will never forget.
God bless Jim Jordan. Lorne White of the Law Enforcement Torch Run introduced me to Jim in the early the early 90’s. I was struck by his gentlemanly personality. His dedication to the Special Olympic cause was infectious and propelled the organization to national recognition. We were honoured to have Jim, Maggie and Lizzie attend our Provincial Games in Timmins. With respect and gratitude to Maggie and family….we are blessed to have known him.
Maggie, Alex, Clara Lizzie &Kate:
That obituary in the most beautiful, accurate, loving, from the heart summary of an amazing life. Who quotes Lonesome Dove in an obituary !? Jim was an icon, he was larger than life. As a kid I loved when he was around. So impressive, so composed, so inspiring throughout his entire life!
He lived a spectacular life in no small part due to the love he received from all of you.
Dear Maggie, Lizzie,Clara and Kate,
How fortunate I have been to call Jim “uncle”.I have always felt his affection for me. He is cherished
Dearest Margaret, Alex, Clara, Lizzie and Kate,
A magnificent tribute to a magnificent man who was dearly loved by many, including me. Jim will be sorely missed in this world. Thinking of you all with much love and sending you prayers for strength and peace as you journey through this sad time.
Thank you, beloved Jim, for being such an important part of my life and my family’s life. No coincidence that sweet Lizzie reunited us later in life. You are so loved. May you rest in gentle peace.
While we may need to say farewell to the earthly presence of Uncle. Jim, he will forever be present in our hearts. I hold many cherished memories of time spent in the house in Cedarbrae before the move to Ontario, and of hearing Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” recited to me. In later years I remember a welcoming home while on family vacations or while studying my Master’s in Ontario. I always felt loved and special. I will hold you in my heart always. Now it is my turn to recite to you – From Lord Tennyson Crossing the Bar:
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call from me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell
When I embark;
For fho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far.
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
Lizzie, please accept our deepest condolences.
I remembered meeting your Dad at the Keg last February. That was the first time I met your Dad.
What I remembered, was that I felt we knew each other for a long time! A very warm and kind man. May all the beautiful memories you had with you Dad, bring you peace today and always. Please let your family, know that our thoughts and prayers are with each and everyone in the Jordon Family! God Bless. Peggy and Hubert Caniglia
Our hearts go out to the Jordan family and all who were close to Jim. This year’s special olympics will hold an even greater importance for me to memorialize such a loving, selfless, and patriotic family man.
To Jim Jorden: what I saw Jim and my Sister Margaret, was an amazing love that was so true and authentic, that it made me very, happy! Jim was always a vey special addition to our family, and we loved him in a special way!!!!
It was a great privilege to have known Jim.He was a blessing sent to propel The Special Olympics to the forefront and national recognition. His support and time given at our Bocce Tournament in the USA, with Miss Elizabeth, will be a memory I will always cherish.
Thank you Margaret,Alex,Clara,Miss Elizabeth and Kate for sharing Jim with us.
Dear Kate and Jordan family, thinking of you during this difficult time and sending prayers to reduce your grief. What a wonderful man, so highly celebrated in this obituary. He will definitely be missed, after living such a life: well lived and well loved
Jim you have left us with the greatest memories. Lucky for us that you and Margaret moved to Ontario many years ago. We also were fortunate to have had a couple of vacations together. We had many laughs and great conversations, staying up till (many years ago) all hours of the night. Our last visit here in our new home was wonderful and thank God for that. Even the movie Picnic a favorite of yours and Brian’s entertained you again.
We so enjoyed your stories and loved to hear you speak as your uncle would have, DO YOU BELEIVE IN GOD.
Margaret, Clara, Alex, Kate and Liz, we keep you in our prayers
“It is a deep mystery this matter of life and death… that the same people who brought us a thousand joys, can one day leave us shedding a thousand tears… and we wonder, how this thread that holds us all to life can be so thin and fragile. until one day, we find the courage to accept that the living are not meant to understand death, only to celebrate life, and to remember that the only real death is forgetting,
Dear Maggie,
It is with the deepest of sympathies for you and your beautiful family that we send our love and condolences for this unimaginable loss.
Jim’s impact on this world, and all of us was nothing short of monumental and ever lasting.
He was warm bright light that drew the very best of this world to him. His authenticity, compassion, love of life was absolutely magnetic.
An uncanny balance of: eloquence, intellect and razor sharp whit. Neatly wrapped in a handsome prairie-boy smile. Simply the kindest man that I am proud have ever met and shared space with.
Prayers for continued strength, may all those who loved Jim continue to surround you all with compassion
We also will raise hearts ,minds and raise a toast to give thanks to Jim for a fine example on how one should lead a gracious, meaningful and well lived life.
Love to you all!
Thinking of you during this difficult time and sending our heart felt condolences.
Maggie, Alex, Clara, Lizzie & Kate, so much joy and laughter your father and dearest husband has brought to us all ,infamous memories of the eddie bauer christmas, painting the duplex in calgary, great phones calls with treasured stories told, special olympics calgary at spruce meadows, Jim knew how to make a breakfast, my treasured 2023 recent christmas visit
Paul and I would always rewatch Lonesome Dove and quote the lines all due to Jim’s love of the words and the deeds
He will never be forgotten , love to you all
There are no words to express my sorrow, and I cannot imagine the loss for Maggie and the entire family, but to say there is pain and loss that is so great – because – of who Jim was, what Jim stood for, what Jim embodied, what he brought to this world, the love and all that everyone who knew Jim understands – the world was a better place with him, a better place now because he was here, and we are all better people because we once knew Jim.
God Bless Maggie, Lizzie, Alex, Cara, and Kate and all of the extended Jordan family. Thank you for blessing our lives with Jim’s presence.
He is one of the greatest men, humans, and Canadians to have walked this planet. Thank you – for him. God Bless.
“Lord Jim”
That was my nickname for him … after some movie.
His full name was Jim Jordan – from Calgary.
He believed that his God put him on earth to do good.
As it turns out, he executed that chore to perfection.
He quietly and effectively led a life beyond reproach, coached the importance of being your brother’s keeper and set an example of how to behave. I once told him that former Toronto Maple Leaf captain, Ted Kennedy, was the definition of class because he did things for others when nobody was looking … “Teeder” and “Lord Jim” were soul mates.
Frank Selke (don’t call me Junior – unless your last name was Beliveau) and Jim and I formed a unique bond. We were the fundraising and awareness “Trioika” for Special Olympics Canada in the 1980s and 90s.
It didn’t start that way … I was the straggler.
Frank and Jim were already in place as architects of the organization looking to build awareness and momentum while I started by looking for ways to build investment in the charity.
We had some great successes – the next one was always the best one.
“The Coach”, Frank Selke passed away 11 years ago.
“Lord Jim” passed away on Friday.
Jim’s departure is a terrible loss.
If we are judged by what we leave behind he may not have an equal.
I’m sure he had no idea when he was playing hockey on those frozen Alberta ponds or football on hard rock grassy high school football fields that there was a real sports plan for him … he was destined to … no, supposed to, meet his Maggie and care for the 30,000 + athletes that make up the organization called Special Olympics Canada.
At the hospital, I had a chance to spend some time with Jim and Maggie … two once-in-a-lifetime friends.
I reminded Jim about our trip to Dublin in 2003 for the Special Olympics when we watched our buddy, Selke, lead Team Canada onto the field at Croke Park and the fun we had at the stadium watching our athletes win medals under the blue skies and sunshine of downtown Dublin.
We had to rush back to our hotel in the evening to catch the Irish 11 pm news and weather … where the announcer gave her report in that fabulous Irish Galic brogue that we didn’t understand although we were fascinated by every word.
As you know, Jim was a wordsmith.
He loved language.
Our language.
He created the historical encyclopedia of the creation of the Special Olympics in Canada as well as a fabulous tribute to his family so that his grandchildren can easily link their connections to all things “Jordan”.
I loved Jim.
We had a lovely few minutes yesterday.
Nycki at Special Olympics named him accurately, and properly.
You may not meet another guy like him in your lifetime.
He was our champion.
Dear Margaret, Alex,Lara,Clara,Su-Eong,Liz, Kate and Corey
We have been holding all of you close in our hearts and our prayers during these past sad days.
When we reflect on the life of Jim the brother, the brother-in-law and the uncle, the hymn that draws from the words of Psalm 122 comes immediately to mind. “I was full of joy when I went up to the house of the Lord” For indeed our most vivid recollections of Jim are when he voiced his great joy with his life. Every beautiful letter was filled with the joy he found in his family, his memories of his beloved prairies, his happy recollections of boyhood in Blackie and the delight he took in stories, music, movies and poetry. Indeed, his own last words “Tell them I was blessed” express his joy.
So today we may weep and mourn, but one day we shall laugh as we recall the many times he brought us joy!
Dear Margaret , Alex, Clara, Lizzie and Kate ; Ted and I send our sincere condolences at this difficult time . We remember Jim with fondness and still cherish our time as neighbours and friends to the Jordans. Thinking of you all and praying that God’s
peace will be felt by each one as you grieve the loss of you husband , father and grandfather . Sending a hug to each one of you <3
“You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can’t forget. Those are your friends.” – Mark Twain
Jim is one of those friends!
I had the good fortune, for which I am truly grateful, of being one of the “Four Amigos”-Jim, Father Dennis, Father Eric and myself.
Our adventures with Jim were always memorable, full of laughter and always fun!
Jim was always best at seeking meaning and insight and dragging us along with him…it was inspiring!
We new Jim was destined for great things! We see it in his family. We see it in his professional commitment to the Paralympics.
Jim introduced us to his wonderful/lovely wife, Maggy, and our dear friend, Lizzy.
We loved and enjoyed being around Jim.
We admired him close-up and from afar.
Jim enriched our lives!
Thank you, Jim!
May you rest in Peace!
Dave & Cecile Jones
To Margaret and family. My condolences on the loss of Jim. He was a wonderful man, who I had the pleasure of becoming friends with through our work with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, at St. Mark’s church in Stouffville.
Jim was such a kind and gentle man. He held our Neighbours in Need in the highest regard. May God rest his soul.
Aunt Maggie, Alex, Clara, Lizzie and Kate
I am so sorry for your loss. Uncle Jim was a very special person and I am so grateful to have had him in my life and had the privilege to be able to call him uncle. I was fortunate enough to have received one of uncle Jim’s handwritten letters and I will cherish it always. As I sit here and think of all the good memories I have of him, a poem that a close friend sent me keeps popping up in my mind. I hope you can find a small measure of comfort it knowing Jim is now a guardian angel for all of you.
I Made It Home
I just wanted to let you know I made it home
Everything is so pretty here, so white, so fresh, so new.
I wish that you could close your eyes so you could see it too
Please try not to be sad for me. try to understand.
God is taking care of me…I’m in the shelter of His hands
Here there is no sadness, and no sorrow and no pain. Here there is no crying, and I’ll never hurt again.
Here it is so peaceful, when all the angels sing I really have to go now…I’ve just got to try my wings.
Jim will always be in your hearts and all of ours.
So sorry to hear of his passing. Our sincerest condolences.