Mary Lois Berry Jordan
Mary Lois Berry Jordan, 95, died Wednesday, May 13, 2020, at home in Apollo, where she lived with her daughter, Becky Krug and family.
The youngest of six children, Mary Lois was born in Cabin Creek, W.Va., and was the daughter of the late Rev. A.J. and Mrs. Susie Berry.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, the Rev. Harry E. Jordan, who passed away in 2011. She lost three children, Jeffrey in 1985, Kathleen Frantz in 2009, and Jimmy a month ago.
Her survivors include her children, Maggie McKinney (Bruce), Jeanne Makula (Doug), Mark Berry Jordan (Sherry), Becky Krug (Eric) and her former son-in-law, the Rev. George Frantz (Connie); 14 grandchildren; and 24 great-grandchildren.
After graduating from Pioneer High School in 1942, Mary Lois worked for the Ration Board in Bryan, Ohio.
Though she loved high school, she never considered college. “All I wanted was to get a job for awhile, find a nice guy, get married, and have a family,” she said. She didn't want to marry a farmer or a minister, though. Farmers' wives worked too hard. Preachers were too poor. Yet in June 1945, she married Harry Jordan, a Baptist seminary graduate and U.S. Army sergeant, who wanted to preach.
For 45 years, the couple served churches in Tennessee, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Their last church was First Baptist Church of Leechburg, Pa., where they stayed for 24 years. “It seemed I had a baby almost every place I lived,” she joked. “I was afraid to leave Leechburg for fear I'd have another baby.”
In the early years, the Jordans struggled financially, so she became a seamstress, a make-it-from-scratch cook, and sometimes a gardener. They taught their children, “The Lord will provide.” Once, they raised chickens. Later, when money wasn't tight, Mary Lois still shopped at thrift and dollar stores.
After her husband began preaching, she advised him not to be so intellectual. “People liked stories and personal touches,” she said. She encouraged him to play the banjo and sing, including the song they came to be known for, “Ah, Yes, I Remember It Well,” a song of mild disagreements between husband and wife.
They may have had mild disagreements themselves, but she always supported his work. She played the church piano with pizzazz, directed choirs, taught Sunday school, supervised vacation Bible schools and hosted missionaries. After he died, she continued to visit Apollo's West Haven Nursing Home, until March of this year.
She wasn't as spiritual as she should be, she admitted. She told a men's quartet they sounded “terrible.” She criticized bakers for making brownies “without nuts” and young girls for wearing olive green. She liked pretty dresses, pastel colors and lace. She loved “good food” and didn't sacrifice the last piece of pie to one of her children. She ate it herself instead. She liked to stay busy cooking, mopping, making books, rewriting songs, beating people in Scrabble, needlepointing, going to the Holy Land, and visiting family. Her son Jimmy, called her a “whippersnapper.” He was born in 1959 with Down syndrome. The doctor recommended an institution, but they took Jim home. In the 59 years Jim lived with her, she encouraged his love of music, took him to the nursing home to play his tambourine, and watched TV with him when she'd rather go to bed. The afternoon she died, she briefly thought she saw him at her bedroom door.
JORDAN — The family of Mary Lois Berry Jordan, who died Wednesday, May 13, 2020, will hold a private funeral service at Leechburg's First Baptist Church with Mark Jordan and the Rev. Jonathan Potter officiating.She will be buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Leechburg, with her husband and sons.Arrangements have been entrusted to Clawson Funeral & Cremation Center, 170 Main St., Leechburg.Condolences to the Jordan family may be offered at www.clawsonfuneralhome.com.
