Merle R. Jordan ’52 died on March 25, 2018, in Winchester Massachusetts.
Dr. Merle R. Jordan, Prof. Emeritus, B.U. School of Theology and former Director of Danielsen Institute, of Stoneham, died on Sunday, March 25 at the Winchester Hospital.
Born in Portland, Maine on March 4, 1931, he was 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 to 1966. From 1966 to 1969 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. In addition, he served as the Executive Director of the Danielsen Institute of Pastoral Counseling at Boston University from 1972 to 1982. He also served 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.
Rev. Dr., Jordan is survived by his wife Barbara (Gianino) Jordan, his three children; Christopher A. Jordan and his wife Elaine Kubota of Hawaii, Marcia Ann Jordan and her husband Mark Huston of Washington, and Ross A. Jordan and his wife Patricia Dennehy Jordan of Plymouth; his three grandchildren, Thomas Jordan Tapping of Hawaii, Brianna Jordan of Hong Kong and Bailey Jordan of New York City, and dear friend Teresa I. Sirois. He is also survived by his in-laws, as well as many nieces and nephews and dear friends. He was predeceased by his sister Carolyn Jordan.