John Peter Jordan
August 17, 1951 - September 29, 2019
Obituary
MADISON - John Peter Jordan, age 68, died unexpectedly of cardiovascular problems on Sept. 29, 2019. He was born on Aug. 17, l951, in Waukesha Wis., but grew up in Madison, where he attended Edgewood High School. He then studied at Oshkosh State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, receiving a degree in History, followed by studies in engineering. He had a lifelong interest in history and American foreign policy, especially as it relates to the quest for justice in the Middle East.
He also had a lifelong interest in social justice generally, and was a co-founder of DANEnet, launched in 1994 to provide technical support for small nonprofits, especially those that provide tech education and digital equity for low-income kids and help low-income people get computers and Internet access. He edited the newsletter ”The Traffic Safety Reporter” for several years while at DANEnet.
John is survived by his brother, William (Buffy); his sister, Anne; mother-in-law, Carol Rickey, and her sons, Michael, Alan and John; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife, Patricia Ann Rickey; and his parents, William and Katherine Jordan.
John was a kind and gentle man. He was deeply devoted to his family, and provided long-term care to his parents and uncle, and the most tender devotion to his wife, Patty, when she was dying of cancer. He was still in deep mourning for Patty, who died just seven weeks before he did. We like to think of them together again in another world.
A memorial service will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, with Father Michael Radowicz presiding. Visitation from 9:30 a.m. until the time of the service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in John’s name to DANEnet (danenet.org). Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.
Gunderson East
Funeral & Cremation Care
5203 Monona Drive
(608) 221-5420
Events
Visitation
Wed Oct 30, 2019 @ 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM CDT
Gunderson Funeral and Cremation Care - Madison • 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, WI 53716
Memorial Service
Wed Oct 30, 2019 @ 11:00 AM CDT
Gunderson Funeral and Cremation Care - Madison • 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, WI 53716
Photos
No photos of John have been shared yet.
Memories
ME
Mark Evans
Other •
John will be greatly missed. I've known him for the last 8 years, through DANEnet and have always greatly appreciated his gentle and wise contributions to our work. Further, I've appreciated our conversations about history and the Middle East and his interest in my additional passion, beekeeping, due to his father's beekeeping hobby. John, we will always miss you.
JG
Jack Guzman
Other •
John and I shared many a moment discussing our mutual interest in films. They were always lively conversations, and John seemed willing to listen to my often overly biased opinions. And, I became sensitive to the films that Patty might not share my enthusiasm for and would steer them away as being for John's eyes only. I think he often took me up on my recommendations. I'm going to miss those conversations. I'm comforted knowing that John's broken heart no longer feels any pain.
CH
Carolyn Hackler
Other •
I got to know John through Pat, with whom I worked for over 20 years. He was always a kind, thoughtful man, and I was especially touched by his loving care of Patty when I would visit her. I have to smile when I think of the many different juices and sodas he purchased so she had something she would enjoy, and which he would offer me by running down the list, complete with description and their rating of its taste. Such a good guy.
DA
Dawn and Dennis Arnold
Other •
John was my husband Dennis' roommate at Madison, back in the day. We had many wonderful times with John and Patty, and now we will have wonderful memories of them both.
WI
William R. Jordan III
Other •
An early memory of my brother John, who was seven years younger than me, was ca. 1955, when he would have been four. Florence and John Retzer were close friends of our family, and when John died unexpectedly, in (I think) 1955, when Johnny would have been four, Florence later told my parents that Johnny had shown a degree of sympathy for her that she found impressive in a child so young. That, I think, turned out to be a key element in his personality. He was concerned all his life with relationships, community and communication, which underlay his role in the creation of DANEnet here in the Madison area, a program launched in the early years of the tech revolution to make emerging communications technologies available to individuals and non profits. I especially remember his generosity, his caring for our parents in their declining years, and for his wife, Patty, during the several years when she was dying of cancer. I remember his lifelong friendships with friends like Joey Aldworth and Bill Rieder, and the intensity of his interest in history and current affairs---well, actually, the intensity of all his varied interests. I wish he were here now to offer his perspective on what is going on in Ukraine... John's brother, Bill Jordan III March 21, 2022