William Harold Jordan

William Harold Jordan of East Sandwich passed away on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 at the age of 94. Bill (Buddy) was born in Obion County, Tennessee on May 20, 1920, to the late L.A. and Emma Jordan, a sharecropper couple whose small farm supported their family of five boys and five girls. He was 15 and in eighth grade when he left school to work on the farm full time to help support the family. The Great Depression was on, times were hard, and as the oldest of the five boys, it was his duty to help.

As a teenager, Buddy joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public works relief program, part of the New Deal legislation created by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early 1930s to help the country out of the Great Depression. While in the CCC he was sent to build national parks and roadways through the vast wilderness of northern California. There were two milestone moments for him while in the CCC. The first was he was able to send $25 each month to his family, which was more money than they had ever seen. They thought they had struck gold, and even were able to go to town to buy groceries for the first time. The second event of note was his decision to register for the draft.

While in Army training at Otis Air Base, Bill met and married Evelyn Ferris, and settled in Fall River, MA. During World War 2. Bill served as a gunner on a 90 mm anti-aircraft gun, and saw action on several islands in the Pacific Theater. After two years he returned home to his wife and a 22 month old son he had never seen. He worked for 10 years in a cotton mill in Fall River, and eventually moved his growing family to Weymouth.

He later became a member of the MA National Guard as a missile specialist who worked on NIKE-HERCULES missiles, which provided air defense for the nation’s major metropolitan cities. He retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 3, after 28 years.

Bill was predeceased by his first wife Evelyn, his second wife Laurette, his daughter Marjorie Laverne Jordan, and longtime companion Viola Dufault. He is survived by his brother Don Jordan of Troy, TN, sisters Lynnie Turner of Columbus, Georgia and Rachel Savage of Rives, TN. two sons, William H. Jordan, Jr., of Ft. Pierce, FL, and Richard A. Jordan, of San Diego, CA, and his daughter Donna Buckley of Sagamore Beach, MA. He is survived by his grandchildren, Chris, Kim, Rick, Michael, Erin, Ryan, and Will, and great-grandchildren, Heather, Chris, Ferick, Peter, Kevin, Rick, Jules, and Perri, and many nieces and nephews.

Bill leaves his family and friends with memories of a gentle man who only saw the good in everyone he met. He was a kind-hearted, hard-working man who lived each day to the fullest, had the strength of character to meet all of life’s challenges with wisdom and courage, and possessed a sense of humor which was always present. He was an inspiration to his family and friends.

Visitation is Sunday, August 3rd from 4-7 pm at Nickerson Bourne Funeral home at 154 Massachusetts 6A in Sandwich. Please meet at funeral home at 10:00 am to go in procession to the cemetery. Burial service will be at 11:15 am on Monday, August 4,at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.