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ObituariesIn Remembrance: G. Ray Jordan ’48Div Died on February 10 2012Longtime religious studies professor at San Diego State University, Dr. Ray Jordan, who retired from SDSU in 1996, died peacefully on February 10, 2012. Read a tribute on the SDSU religious studies department website. |
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5 remembrances
I'm late in adding my remembrances. Dr. Jordon changed my life in ways that continue to today in the fall of 2020, though it took decades to realize just how much.
Professor Jordan was my most meaningful instructor during the Vietnam war era. Never judgmental, always truly listening. He and his fine wife Marilyn, helped me navigate many treacherous and contentious situations, both before and after my ill-fated and naive military experiment.
Shortly before graduating from SDSU, Ray gave me a marvelous book of wisdom, The Book of Tea, by Kakuzo Okakura, which i re-read 50 years later.
By any standard, Ray Jordan was a 5 Star professor and human being.
It's nice to read how my dad affected people. It's true he was never judgmental he was always compassionate and always loving. He helped a lot of people in many ways as so did his father Dr G Ray Jordan who was a minister at Emory University and a professor. They were both great men I am honored to be his daughter his first born. And he gives me such great joy to be how he has affected people in such good ways. He is always with me.
I’m currently reading one of the Dr. Jordan’s books “YOU CAN PREACH”. This book has empowered and educated me, on how important it is as it relates to preaching the Word of God. I’ve benefitted greatly from this powerful read.
Professor Jordan, or Ray as we knew him, was a mentor and close friend for nearly 45 years. I first met him in 1967 as a student in one of his classes. I discovered his interest in Zen, which I was already beginning to practice myself. I attended the many Zen sessions that he had at his home, and we found that we had many things in common, both our sense of humor and our love of Japanese and Chinese culture.
Ray was a man of deep wisdom and kindness; his home in Julian was full of adopted animals, cats, and multiple dogs; he even rescued two sheep and had them in a pen. Yes, I continued my studies in Zen. Ray gave me sagacious advice on what to look out for in the Zen bureaucracy. And not for me not to lose myself in the game of robes and titles. I didn't always follow his advice but soon found out that he was almost always right. Ray’s breadth of knowledge of spiritual traditions was truly amazing. Whether it was Christianity, Judaism, Taoism, Sufism, or Zen Buddhism, Professor Jordan not only had a deep understanding of them intellectually but also a profound grasp of the spirituality that was in each tradition.