Philip Carl “Phil” Jordan, 96, of Reedsburg, Wis., passed away Saturday, March 17, 2018. He spent his last years living in Yorktown, Va. He was born March 27, 1921, in Madison, Wis., the son of Carl and Marie (Haak) Jordan.
Phil attended St. James Elementary School and Edgewood High School, Class of 1939, and then the University of Wisconsin Madison. He served 3 ½ years in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Phil married Dorothy J. Mieras, who served in the Women Air Corps at Eglin AFB, on Oct. 26, 1946, at St. Isadore Church, Grand Rapids, Mich. He was employed by Hankscraft Co. in Madison and moved with the company to Reedsburg in 1949.
Hankscraft was bought by Gerber products in 1970. Phil served as shipping and traffic manager until he retired in 1985. While employed there, he was active in a number of state and national industrial groups; namely, the National Industrial Traffic League, the Illinois Territory Manufacturers’ Traffic League, Private Truck Council of America, Delta Nu Alpha Transportation Fraternity, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Association, General Traffic Committee and Madison Transportation Club.
Phil was a charter member of the Reedsburg Knights of Columbus. He served as the grand knight from 1959 to 1960 and was the council treasurer for the next 40 years. He was also a charter member of the Reedsburg Lions Club and served as president from 1957 to 1958. Phil was an active member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, serving many years on the finance committee. He was also a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Phil’s passions after retiring were traveling, gardening, reading and enjoying his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Phil was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Dorothy; and brother, Richard (Donna). He is survived by his brother, Michael (Pat); daughters, Kathleen (David) Hersrud of Sturgis, S.D., Barbara Lai (Richard) Lai of Los Alamos, Minn., and Judith (Mark) Wanless of Edgerton, Wis.; son, Kevin (K.J.) Jordan of Newport News, Va.; grandchildren, Valdrian Lai, Marie (Ben) Waddell, Samantha (David Siemens) Hersrud, Ryan (Emily) Wanless and Alexander Lai; and great-grandchildren, Veronica Lai, Trenton Waddell, Nora Waddell and Graden Siemens Hersrud.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Yorktown. Visitation will be held at 9 a.m., Wednesday, March 21, followed by a Mass at 10 a.m. Burial will be held at 2 p.m. in Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Phil’s name to the Virginia Living Museum, 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, VA 23601.
