George W. Jordan Jr.

George William Jordan Jr. of Hot Springs Village passed away 30 March 2025. George was born in Fordyce to Ruth Abernathy Jordan and George William “Jud” Jordan.

As son to one of the “Fordyce Red Bug’s famed Jordan twins”, athletics were a large part of George’s upbringing. With future Red Bug star quarterback Dr. Bill Atkinson living next door, football competition started early with a.m. games on the Fordyce Grammar School playground. WW ll was underway and George was intrigued with the school’s initiative to raise money to buy a Jeep for the military. Tied to that, George was well aware that distant relative “Uncle Ray” Porter was something called a General in that war. Suspicions were confirmed that Uncle Ray was indeed a big deal - given the endless supply of K-rations he provided. With the war’s end in 1945, Jordan twins Click and Jud - who had kept Fordyce automobiles motoring at their ESSO Service Station during the war - rationalized that people were going to need and want new cars. To facilitate that the twins, plus younger brother Floyd, opened a Pontiac dealership in Camden and George’s family moved there in 1948.

In the fall of 1949, George went out for Junior High football as a Camden Panther, quickly idolizing Camden football stars, Charles Hallum and Richard Rushing. In 1951 Camden had two capable tailbacks - future Arkansas Governor/Senator David Pryor and future coaching professional Bobby Gene Gatling. With great trepidation, George went out for Coach Sam Coleman’s Varsity in 1952, made the team, and played behind Bob Gatling, winning the Arkansas AA State Championship. Two years later Coach Coleman was in his 30th year at Camden and George was President of his Senior Class, co-captaining football with Felix Bivens. The Homecoming game was to be against Fordyce with Elinor Pryor the Homecoming Queen. Before that festivity, George and Don “Sonny” Harrell went to see Dr. J. B. Jameson, President of the School Board, successfully petitioning to re-name the football facility Coleman Stadium. Things didn’t look good at the 6 - 6 halftime, but the Panthers rallied to a 33 - 6 win. Ending that season, George and former Fordyce buddy, Bill Atkinson, signed to be Arkansas Razorbacks.

George’s Razo room mate was Barry Switzer - who introduced George to his future wife, Lynn. In the eighth game of the ’58 season on a lovely late fall day at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, George’s Razorback experiences capsulized in a glorious seven minute span. His “Thundering Third”, led by Crossett/Oklahoma Sooner/Dallas Cowboy Barry Switzer, put up 18 points against legendary player/coach Sammy Baugh’s Hardin-Simmons team. The Razorback annual noted that the scoreboard failed to register after 49.

George and Lynn were married in Mount Healthy, Ohio with Jim Van Dover of North Little Rock serving as best man. After graduation at Razorback Stadium (BSBA degree Marketing), George was commissioned into Uncle Ray’s Regular Army as a 2nd Lieutenant (Infantry). Thus the newlyweds embarked on a twenty-eight year career, including three combat tours in the Dominican Republic and Viet Nam. George subsequently qualified as a Master Army Aviator, flying both fixed wing and rotary winged aircraft. While attending the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS., George moonlighted his way to a Master of Arts degree from Webster College, St. Louis, Missouri.

Retiring from the Army at Fort Ord, CA., George began civilian employment in Monterey with USPA & IRA, urging active-duty military to “pay yourself first” because “a part of all you earn is yours to keep”. George worked in this vocation for eleven years. Lynn and he, avid golfers, became avid cyclists, averaging 100 miles per week. Their home in picturesque Carmel Valley was nine miles east of Carmel Village, Pebble Beach, and the Pacific Ocean (and usually one mile east of the coastal fog bank), where mountain hiking, volley ball and croquet - and even a wedding took place.

Sometime after second retirement, George’s younger brother Jim, President of BancorpSouth in hometown Camden, began nudging George to join he and his wife, Janis, in Hot Springs Village, the largest gated community in the United States, offering an abundance of activities, headlined by nine golf courses. On an unusually cold day in February 2007, Lynn and George moved into the new home of their design behind the tee of a par three. Having had dementia symptoms since the early 90’s, Lynn was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s by UAMS shortly after arriving in Arkansas. One day she escaped George’s supervision, wandering onto the par-three tee box, approaching a lone golfer. The man was unsuccessful determining who she was or where she lived, so time passed before she was reunited with a very grateful George. Subsequently, George noted from his deck the man’s return to complete play of the par three. George approached him with more thanks and a small remuneration for his care of Lynn - which the golfer refused. George held out the $20, committed to give it to the man - IF he made a hole-in-one. He did! Such was life in Hot Springs Village...

George will be laid to rest beside his beloved Lynn at the CedarVale Cemetery, Hot Springs Village.

Wooooooo Pig!!!