Mamie P. Jordan

Obituary Mamie Irene Pearson Jordan was born on April 10, 1918, and was the third child of Nathan and Bessie (McClendon) Pearson. She and her siblings grew up working on the farm that the Pearsons owned located in Wheeler County, Georgia. She graduated valedictorian of her high school class and entered Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School where she worked in the campus laundry and then in the registrar’s office after school and Saturday mornings to help pay for tuition. Yet, she remained high on the honor roll the entire time while in college. Her first employment was at Fort Valley teaching 3rd Grade students. Her last two years of college were attended on a full Julius Rosenwald scholarship and her activities included the Players’ Guild, Y.W.C.A., and as a Freshman Counselor. During her Senior Year, she worked under the supervision of Dr. Horace Mann Bond, the father of Julian Bond. She graduated with a B.S. from Fort Valley State College. She continued her studies toward a Masters Degree from 1942-43 as a Rosenwald Fellow at Ohio State University. She married Lewis Thomas Jordan in 1943 and was employed as House Mother and Food Supervisor for the Industrial School in Mt. Meigs, Alabama. She moved to Kansas City, Missouri in 1949 after Lewis Jordan was named the first Superintendent for the Niles Home for Children. There she served as Assistant Superintendent and Nutrition Supervisor. She continued to serve part-time in those roles as she reared her three daughters. Her next employment was as the instructor of academically talented students in the Kansas City, Missouri School District. She was the first black employed in this capacity. She continued her studies at Avila College and Central Missouri State University. Her last employment was as an instructor of Family and Life Education for the KCMO School District from which she retired in 1980. She grew up in the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church and in 1953 joined the St. Augustine Episcopal Church where she was also a Sunday School Teacher. She was subsequently a member of St. George’s Episcopal Church where she was a Vestry Member; Secretary to the Episcopal Church Women; an Altar Guild Member and served many times as a Parish Delegate to the Diocesan Conference. She most recently was a member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church where she served as a Member of the Altar Guild Reception and Outreach Committees. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Other affiliations and activities included the: National Education Association, National Home Economics Association; Kanas City, MO Home Economics Association and numerous PTA and School Parent Groups. She was also a member of the Ft. Valley State University National Alumni Association; Missouri Association of Retired Teachers; and the Kansas City, MO Association of Retired Teachers; Church Women United; Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the AARP. Mamie Irene Pearson Jordan is survived by her three daughters: Brenda Jordan McGee (James) Las Vegas, NV; Patricia A. Jordan and Rita A. Jordan; her sister Lavesta Rutland (Atlanta); her brother Alfred O. Pearson (Dublin, GA) and a host of nieces and nephews from the Jordan, Pearson, Spearman, Rutland and Cummings Families and other relatives. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mamie P. Jordan, please visit our floral store. Read More

Mamie P. Jordan

April 10, 1918 - July 11, 2018