Dr. Ray Jordan

Funeral services for Dr. O. Ray Jordan, age 88 of Cookeville, will be held Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 12:00 pm in the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Phillips Cemetery in Algood. Celebrant Judy Duke will officiate.

His family will receive friends Wednesday from 4:00 pm until 7:00 and again Thursday from 9:00 am until service time at the funeral home.

Dr. Jordan died Monday December 11, 2023 at Bailey Manor of Cookeville.

He was born November 24, 1935 in the Norma Community of Scott County, TN to the late Olaf Franklin Jordan and Oma Jean Rector Jordan. He completed a Master of Science degree from the University of Arkansas in 1962 and became a faculty member in the Department of Biology at Tennessee Tech University in 1965, serving in this role for 44 years until his retirement form academia in 2009.

He taught a variety of courses including Herpetology, Ornithology, and Comparative Anatomy, among others. He was well known as an understanding and passionate instructor, and was very popular with students and faculty at the university. His breadth of knowledge concerning biology was well known and respected and he often served on committees for students studying diverse taxa. His work also included involvement in the restoration of Bald Eagles in Tennessee in the 1980s and early 1990s, and he was instrumental in creating a restoration plan for Bald Eagles at Dale Hollow Lake.

He enthusiastically participated in education and outreach efforts outside of the university. He established a live animal collection of reptiles and amphibians at TTU, a collection that is still heavily used today in teaching, research and outreach efforts by existing faculty and students. He readily accepted invitations to display the animals and to educate the public about their importance at public events throughout the state. His presentations were entertaining, educational, and he was well known throughout the Upper Cumberland as the "snake man". He also led wild flower walks at several events, and a section of hiking trail at Standing Stone State Park is named in his honor.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Betty Ann Waldrop Jordan.

He is survived by sons, Mike Jordan and companion, Julieann LaFara and Eric Jordan and companion Meghian Moore, all of Cookeville; daughter, Melanie Jordan, of Newnan, GA; brother, Mickey Hugh Jordan and wife Ann, of Lenior City, TN; grandchild, Amber Jordan; and by great grandchildren, Jordan and Liam Rice.

Family and friends will serve as pallbearers.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers are suggested to be made to: Tennessee Technological University Foundation, memo: Ray Jordan Tri Beta Biology Scholarship Endowment, P.O. Box 1915, Cookeville, TN 38505 or at www.tntech.edu\univadv\giving .

Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (931)526-6111. Share memories and condolences at www.hhhfunerals.com.