The Rev. Dr. Merle R. Jordan passed away on March 25, 2018. He is survived by his wife Barbara; son Christopher Jordan and wife Elaine Kubota of HI; daughter Marcia Ann Jordan and husband Mark Huston of WA; and son Ross A. Jordan and wife Patricia Dennehy Jordan of Plymouth, MA; and grandchildren Thomas, Brianna and Bailey.
Born in Portland, Maine the son of Everett C. Jordan and Ida Mae Moore, who died of scarlet fever when Merle was 51/2 weeks old. He was raised by his father and loving step mother. Emma Frances Dunn. He grew up in South Portland, Maine. He received his BA from Bowdoin College where he was Phi Beta Kappa, Captain of the basketball team for two years, President of the Student Council, President of the Senior Class and a pitcher on the baseball team. He received his B.D degree from Andover Newton Theological School in 1956 and was ordained as a minister that same year. He served churches in Maine and California. He received his Th.D. degree in pastoral counseling from the school of Theology at Claremont in California in 1965. He did a year of post-doctoral studies at the Merrill-Palmer Institute in marriage counseling and psychotherapy.
He served as the Assistant Director of Los Angeles Baptist City Mission Society's Pastoral Counseling Service from 1961-66. From 1966-69 he served as a missionary of The United Church Board for World Ministries as the Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Divinity School of Silliman University in the Philippines. In 1969 he came to Boston University as Associate Professor of Pastoral Psychology in the school of Theology. He also served as the Executive Director of the Danielsen Institute of Pastoral Counseling at Boston University from 1972-82, and as interim dean of Boston University School of Theology from the fall of 1974 to the spring of 1977. In 1970 he also founded the South Shore Pastoral Counseling Center in Hingham, Massachusetts which has grown to a large center in that area.
He was a Diplomate of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and he held numerous offices in that organization at both the national and regional level. He was a Fellow and Supervisor in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. In the early 1970's he was instrumental at reorganizing and revitalizing the Massachusetts Chapter of the AAMFT, and he served as President of the Massachusetts chapter of AAMFT for three years. He was also a member of the American Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.
Visitation for relatives and friends at the McDonald-Finnegan Funeral Home, 322 Main Street, Stoneham on Thursday, March 29 from 3:00-7:00PM. The funeral service will be at the First Congregational Church, 1 Church Street, Stoneham on Friday, March 30th at 11:00AM. Interment will be at a later date.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Merle Jordan Conference Fund, c/o The Danielsen Institute, Boston University, 185 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, or to VNA-Care, Fund Development, 199 Rosewood Drive, Suite 180, Danvers, MA 01923.
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