Rev. Joseph Andrew Jordan, 84, Augustinian friar

The Rev. Joseph Andrew Jordan, 84, an Augustinian friar who served as a teacher and pastor, died Thursday, Aug. 20, of heart failure at St. Thomas of Villanova Monastery, where he had lived since 1990.

Father Jordan was born in Philadelphia to John Jordan and Cecilia McGuigan. He attended West Catholic High School and, after graduating in 1948, worked briefly as a clerk in an engineering firm.

In 1949, he entered Augustinian Academy on Staten Island in New York City. He was received into the order as a novice in 1951. After a year's study at Good Counsel Novitiate in New Hamburg, N.Y., he made his first profession of vows in 1952.

He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Villanova University in 1955, the same year he professed his solemn vows.

Father Jordan pursued theological studies at Augustinian College in Washington from 1955 to 1959. During the summer, he returned to Villanova to work on a master's degree in religion, which he completed in 1959.

He was ordained to the priesthood in June 1958 at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington by Bishop John McNamara.

Father Jordan's first assignment in 1959 was to Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, where he taught for 24 years until 1983. In 2010, he received the Monsignor Bonner Medal for his service to the school.

His second assignment was to Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish on Staten Island as associate pastor. He served there until late in 1990, when he moved to St. Thomas of Villanova Monastery to take up various roles in the offices for the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova.

"Father Jordan is numbered among the many friars of the province who worked quietly and diligently in the various responsibilities entrusted to him, faithful to the very last to the diverse components of community life," said Father Michael F. Di Gregorio, leader of the province since last June.

In 2002, Father Jordan was appointed treasurer of the monastery. Four years later, he retired from provincial duties but helped out on the weekends at St. Theresa of Avila Parish in Audubon. He withdrew last year when his health began to fail.

Katie Campbell of Glenolden, a friend of Father Jordan, remembered him as an avid pinochle player.

"Some of my best memories revolve around days spent playing a few games and sparring with friends," she wrote in an online condolence book. "He was always there to concelebrate the major moments in life" - births, marriage, and loss of loved ones.

"I will miss him and his dry sense of humor, his love of life, and his canny ability to cut to the truth of any situation."

He is survived by a sister, Mary Theresa Mulvey, and several nieces and nephews. A brother, Jack, died earlier.

A visitation is to be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, at St. Thomas of Villanova Church, 800 Lancaster Ave., on the university campus. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery.

Donations may be made to the Augustinian Fund: Care of the Sick and Elderly, c/o Provincial Offices, Box 340, Villanova, Pa. 19085.