Dr. Barry Jeffrey Jordan passed away on Friday, December 31, 2021. Born on August 30th, 1958, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Jeff (as he was known to his friends and family) relocated with his parents J.C. and Betty and brother Jerry to Sarasota, Florida, when he was a teenager, graduating from Sarasota High in 1976. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in music education from Florida Southern College in 1980, he went on to obtain a master’s degree in music composition from the University of Kansas, where he met his wife, JoAnn Albin Jordan.
His career as a music educator began at Riley County High School in Kansas before returning with JoAnn to central Florida where he served as the director of bands at Osceola High School in Kissimmee, Florida. Jeff would go on the teach at Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida before briefly leaving his music education career to earn a D.M.A. degree in wind conducting from the University of Missouri - Kansas City Conservatory of Music in 2001. After a short stint teaching at Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida, he was named the director of bands at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas where he remained until conducting his final concert there in May 2021. He published several musical compositions over the course of his career, including the recent completion of a symphony to be premiered at St. Olaf College later this year.
Blessed with a sharp wit, a keen intellect, an encyclopedic memory, perfect penmanship, and love for all arts fine and otherwise, he was also an avid photographer and painter. He is loved and admired by all who were blessed to know him. Dr. Jordan is survived by his wife of 37 years, JoAnn; his daughter, Amy Jordan (husband Drew Zimmerman) of Bowling Green, Ohio; his brother, Jerry Jordan (wife Kathy and children, Tevis and Arielle) of Sarasota, Florida; and his mother, Betty Jordan, also of Sarasota.
A memorial service for friends and family living in Florida will be held at 1255 Cottonwood Trail, Sarasota, FL on Saturday, January 8, at 2:00 PM.
A funeral for friends and family living in Kansas will be held at Beach-Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Hays, Kansas on Saturday, January 15, at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the FHSU Foundation, One Tiger Place, Hays, Kansas 67601.
Those who donate should specify their donation to the Jeff Jordan Scholarship.