Timothy Lawrence Jordan, 71, formerly of Farmersville, died on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
A service will be announced some time in the future.
Mr. Jordan was born on Jan. 7, 1953, in Springfield, to Charles and Mary (McCormick) Jordan. The second of seven siblings, and the only boy, he was raised in Farmersville, where as the name suggests, he spent his childhood helping his family on the farm where they grew corn and soybeans; he raised pigs and chickens and even had a pony.
Mr. Jordan had a passion for motorcycles, music and for fixing things from early on; rumor has it that it was the sale of a motorcycle that funded his way to technical school in Louisville, Kentucky where he earned an associates degree. From there, Mr. Jordan went to Colorado before moving on to Los Angeles to try to make it in the music industry.
Going to Los Angeles turned out to be a huge success. It was there where he met his first wife, B.J., whom he won over by fixing her toaster. The two of them built a successful business, Tim Jordan Rentals, which still exists today, renting analog and digital audio and video equipment.
Mr. Jordan worked with a number of artists, from Madonna and Michael Jackson to Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. After Mr. Jordan’s sister, Marge, brought her babies to visit, he declared, “I want one of those,” and the couple eventually had three children, Timothy, Tessa and Paul, who were the loves of Mr. Jordan’s life.
The family eventually sold their business and made their way to Downieville, California, for a simpler life. Mr. Jordan got a job with Sierra County doing dispatch and, later, I.T.
While their lives were simpler, they were far from boring. Mr. Jordan was an amazing father, fostering whatever passion his children had at the time. When his sons were into computer games, he filled the house with computers connected by cables strewn from floor to ceiling; when his daughter decided she loved music, he drove her to concerts every month, even on school nights. When snowboarding became the thing he packed up the car and took his kids to the ski resort as often as he could.
Although Mr. Jordan and B.J. grew apart, it was this that allowed him to remarry and have his fourth child, another son, Kean, and his family was complete.
While his second marriage didn’t last either, he eventually rebuilt his friendship with B.J. He spent the last years of his life putting his passions to use doing the sound at the Yuba Theatre in Downieville, helping his daughter fix things at her house, and working on engines and writing poetry with his friend, Will, at his house on the Ridge.
Mr. Jordan’s favorite thing was spending time with his family, especially his grandson, Rudy, who remembers his grandpa as the happiest person who never got mad. Mr. Jordan never complained, even after being diagnosed with leukemia and a tumor in his brain, he was always optimistic and was very excited about the treatment he was receiving at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
Although his life ended sooner than anyone could have imagined, after a stroke from which he could not recover, his family thinks he would have been happy that he left this world easily and without pain. The number of people at his bedside, laughing, crying, and sharing memories, was a testament to the amount of love Mr. Jordan had in his heart. His family will miss him more than words can express.
Mr. Jordan was preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Mary Jordan; and his sister, Kathy Godkin.
He is survived by his partner in life, B.J. Jordan; his grandson, Rudy Jackson; his children, Timothy Jordan, Tessa Jordan, Kean Jordan and Paul Jordan, whose wife, Amy Lei, is expecting Tim’s first granddaughter in March; five sisters, each of whom made the trip to his bedside to say goodbye, Marge (Carl) Bell, Colleen Wisar, Joanne (Greg) Young, Karen (Mark) Yingling and Teresa (Al) Darabaris; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other extended family and friends.
The family would like to thank the staff at the UC Davis Medical Center for taking such good care of Mr. Jordan, both before his stroke and after. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mr. Jordan’s name to the Sierra County Arts Council.
