WILLIAM LARRY JORDAN, 75, passed away on Dec. 2,
2021.
He was born on Dec. 3, 1945 in his family’s home in
Hattiesburg, MS. Larry was the fifth of seven children,
and the youngest son born to Tommie Bland Jordan and
Ezekiel Jordan, Sr. Larry, as he was called by family
and friends, accepted Christ as a child & was baptized
at Antioch Baptist Church of Hattiesburg, where he
attended with his beloved Aunt Ollie, whose house he
enjoyed staying at on the weekends. From an early age,
Larry was energetic, resourceful and adventurous. He
was an active member of the Boy Scouts for many years.
As a boy, he and his close friend Carl would enjoy
gathering scrap materials to build their own go-carts
and race them through the neighborhood. Larry and Carl
would also pretend that the wooded area in their neighbor-
hood was their own personal jungle where they would take
their BB guns and go hunting and have fun climbing trees.
They would also create their own cooking area in their
“jungle” by building a fire and using bricks to roast
sweet potatoes.
Larry was a natural athlete. He was good at playing many
sports including being a member of the Boot Walker Youth
Baseball team that won a Youth World Series. At Rowan
High School, he was a talented Defensive Back on the
football team and was so good, that he was a starter on
the varsity team as a freshman and throughout all four
years of high school. Larry and the other members of his
football team made it to the State Championship game 4
years in a row, winning three of those championships.
They even defeated Walter Payton and his high school
football team when they played against them.
After high school, Larry followed in the footsteps of
his older brothers Ezekiel Jr., who served in the U.S.
Air Force and Tommy (Yonnie) who served in the U.S. Navy.
Larry joined the United States Army and honorably served
his country as a member of the 101st Airborne Division,
the “Screaming Eagles” during the Vietnam War. One of
his many duties in the Army was to jump out of airplanes
and helicopters, and be ready to hit the ground running
during missions. At one point Larry and his big brother
Zeke were serving at the same time and were blessed to
be able to meet up with each other one weekend in Vietnam.
After his time in the Army, Larry decided to further his
education and enrolled at the HBCU, Bishop College in
Dallas, TX where he pursued a B.S. degree in History/
Political Science. It was at Bishop that he met the love
of his life, Priscilla Walker Jordan who became his wife
of 48 years before her sudden passing in 2019. To their
union, two daughters were born, Monica and Keesha, who
were the younger sisters of Larry’s first-born child,
Carlos Scott.
Larry and Priscilla lived and worked in Dallas where they
raised their daughters and resided for 27 years before
moving to Beaumont, Texas in 1994. While in Dallas, Larry
had a 20-year career as a Cable Foreman for AT&T in Mesquite,
TX. During the second half of his life in Beaumont, he worked
with several companies including the City of Beaumont Streets
and Drainage department, Browning-Ferris Industries & several
contract jobs in the construction industry. In his spare time,
Larry was an avid sports fan who loved watching NFL and NBA
games. He played various team sports in local recreation leagues
on his jobs and in his community. He was very interested in
politics and was a big History Buff who always stopped at
historical markers and landmarks on long road trips to expose
his children to history. He enjoyed watching political new
that he watched every single day were the Joy-Anne Reid show
on MSNBC and Roland Martin, Karen Hunter and Dr Gregg Carr on
YouTube. In his golden years, his respiratory flare-ups from
COPD became more frequent and slowed him down some, but he
did not let it stop him from his favorite pastimes of tending
to his plants, growing beautiful flowers, doing yard work, an
occasional fishing trip, watching cooking videos to try new
recipes with his kitchen gadgets, and being a BBQ Grill master
who grilled delicious ribs and a tender brisket.
Larry was a devoted Son, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Brother,
and Uncle who truly loved his family. He was equally loved by
his family and friends, and the loss of him leaves a tremendous
void in their lives. Left behind to cherish precious memories
of Larry are his daughters, Monica Jordan and Keesha Jordan of
Dallas; his son, Carlos Scott, Sr. (Tyesha) of Charlotte, NC;
his grandchildren, Alexia, Brhionan, Patricia, Kaileesi, Shaylynn,
Carlos, Jr. and Kameron; his younger sisters, Ann Jordan and
Deborah Jordan of Hattiesburg and a host of nieces, nephews,
great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, other relatives & friends.
Larry was preceded in death by his wife, Priscilla; his parents,
Ezekiel, Sr. and Tommie Jordan; his brothers, Ezekiel Jordan, Jr.
and Tommy Jordan; his sisters, Dorothy Jordan and Carolyn Jordan
Smith and his nephew and nieces who were like younger siblings to
him, Leonard “Pete” Jordan, Sharon “Tee-Lee” Jordan and Victoria
“Mickey” Jordan Easterling.