William J.D. Jordan, longtime investment financier and community arts and cultural leader, has died at 77
As one-time president of the Center City Residents Association, he promoted the neighborhood’s unique attributes and pressed for improvements. “Smart, generous, hospitable, thoughtful, and stylish. All that was Will,” a friend said.
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William J.D. Jordan, 77, of Philadelphia, retired investment and trust financier at Mellon Bank, Dean Witter, and Janney Montgomery Scott, former development officer at what became Arcadia University, financial adviser, and longtime eclectic mover and shaker in the city’s arts and culture scene, died Saturday, May 25, of pulmonary respiratory disease at Pennsylvania Hospital.
Born the oldest of three children in South Philadelphia and an energetic and popular resident of Center City throughout his adult life, Mr. Jordan was adept at managing complex budgets, large financial portfolios, and million-dollar fundraising efforts. He handled investments and trusts at firms and banks from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s, and served simultaneously as a financial expert and consultant to a dozen local organizations and cultural institutions.
He was one-time president and treasurer of the Philadelphia chapter of the English-Speaking Union, former president of the Center City Residents Association, and onetime treasurer for the Old Pine Conservancy, and Historic Rittenhouse Town. Friends and colleagues called him a natural networker and fundraiser, and one said in a tribute: “It’s true that it seemed he knew everyone.”
He served on boards at the Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired and other groups, and was the longtime financial administrator at St. Mark’s Church. In the 1990s, as chief financial officer at the Church of the Holy Trinity, he helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars that led to extensive renovations and the restoration of its historic 25-bell Belgian carillon.
He was also active during a long-running dispute about trash collection in Center City and wrote a letter to the editor of The Inquirer in 1988 that clearly laid out the issues point by point. In 1993, he served on the board of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and championed its long-term project to celebrate Center City and other neighborhoods.
“The idea is to look at the way the area has changed with all its new buildings,” he told The Inquirer in 1993.
Mr. Jordan was social and gregarious, organized and persuasive. He was a regular at charity galas and fund-raisers for decades, and his photograph appeared often in The Inquirer, including twice for one story in 1977 as he danced and sang around a piano at a party for the Philadelphia chapter of the Victorian Society of America.
“He wore white tie, tact, and sympathy better than anyone I have ever known,” a friend said in a online tribute.
He was a member of the Society of the Sons of St. George, Black Tie Club International, and World Affairs Councils of America. He had season tickets to the orchestra, ballet, and theater, and supported the Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Curtis Institute of Music.
He volunteered for Episcopal Community Services and was appointed to the Priory in the USA of the Order of St. John. “He maintained a large circle of friends,” his family said in a tribute, “who cherished him for his natural charm, graciousness, generosity, and good humor.”
A friend said: “What a lovely, kind, sweet man.”
William J. D. Jordan was born Feb. 17, 1947, in Philadelphia. He grew up at 13th and Wolf Streets with brother Eugene and sister Maryanne, graduated from Bishop Neumann High School, and attended St. Joseph’s University for a time.
His travels eventually took him to every corner of Philadelphia, and he reveled in serving as tour guide and city historian on trips around town. He played backgammon, collected art, and could dance the jitterbug, twist, tango, waltz, and Main Line two-step.
He talked to his sister daily and doted on his family and rescue cat, Oliver. He showed photos of his nieces and nephews to everyone, and a friend said in a tribute: “He also provided a superb role model for the love of a devoted uncle.”
His sister said: “He had high moral standards. He was kind, loving, and generous.”
In addition to his sister and brother, Mr. Jordan is survived by nieces, nephews, and other relatives.
Services were held on June 5.
Donations in his name may be made to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pa. 19130; the Free Library of Philadelphia, Box 7512, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101; and the Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.