Martha Jean (Willard) Jordan

Martha Jean Jordan went home peacefully to live with Jesus on May 14, 2021. She was born February 11, 1942 in Gaffney, South Carolina to Sam and Juanita Willard. Preceding her in death were her parents in 1971 and 2008, her first grandson Joshua Abdelnabi in 2001, and her loving husband Thomas Ray Jordan in 2004.

Martha loved all her family and was a devoted mother and grandmother to her son and daughter and grandchildren, known to everyone as Nanny. Martha was a gypsy who loved to travel, go on cruises, and lived in several different states. She owned and managed apartment complexes in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Vero Beach, Florida, and subsequently worked for twenty years at Mohawk Industries in Landrum, South Carolina. For the past seventeen years after her cancer diagnosis, Martha lived with her daughter and family in Hanahan, South Carolina, and attended East Cooper Baptist Church when her health permitted.

Martha loved all people, she never saw color, race, or ethnicity, embraced the differences in others, always saying “We’re all created by God in his likeness.” Martha was a kind, gentle soul always giving of herself and whatever she had to others. She loved the Lord and always tried to live by his teachings. Martha never met a stranger, making friends wherever she went. She enjoyed watching Clemson football and was so proud when her grandson Tim graduated from Clemson University. Martha loved a variety of music, her favorite being Elvis Presley. She passed on her love of music to her children and grandchildren and could often be heard singing Elvis songs with her grandchildren. Martha’s daughter Laura won a trip to Graceland for knowing the words to Elvis songs and they traveled there together in 2018.

Martha is survived by her sisters Nancy Bishop, Patsy Wix, and Myrtis Parris, her brother and sister-in-law Sammy and Jane Willard; her daughter Laura and partner John Nelson and her son and daughter-in-law Ron and Carla Griffin; grandchildren Adam and Janessa (Campbell) Abdelnabi, Tim Griffin, Benjamin Abdelnabi, Ana Nelson, Angela and Brian Burleigh, Joshua and Melissa Nelson, and Caleb and Jennifer Nelson; her great-grandchildren Zachary, Dillon, and Austin Campbell, Eleanor and Blake Burleigh, Izabella and Charlotte Nelson and Jonah and Eli Nelson; and numerous nieces and nephews. Martha was unable to visit with many members of her family as her health declined but she loved and prayed daily for each and every member of her large extended family.

Please join us in celebrating Martha’s life Monday, May 17, 2021 at Carolina Funeral Home, 7113 Rivers Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29406. Family visitation is at 1:00 pm followed by a service at 2:00 pm.