Thomas C. Jordan, III

Thomas (Tom) C. Jordan, III, a beloved figure in his native Granville County and a true Southern gentleman, passed away on March 7, 2025. He was 93.

He was born on August 28, 1931, to Thomas C. Jordan, Jr., and Lucy Juanita Woody Jordan. He was predeceased by his parents, his younger son David C. Jordan, and his beloved wife of 68 years, Dorothy (Dot) Currin Jordan, whom he missed dearly every day since her passing on November 17, 2021.

Tom proudly served his country in the United States Air Force, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant and was stationed in Alaska during the Korean War. Following his military service, he and Dot moved to Elgin, IL, where he attended watchmaker’s school, following in the footsteps of his father who owned Oxford Jewelry Company and was mayor of Oxford for many years. After Tom’s training, the Jordans moved to Smithfield, NC, where Tom operated Jordan Jeweler’s for a decade, before returning to his native Granville County with his family and working as a sales agent with Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a national small-business advocacy organization.

Prior to his retirement, he and Dot were direct distributors with Amway. Whether in his vocations or his community involvement, Tom led with a big heart, a warmth of spirit, a great sense of humor and an encouraging twinkle in his eye. He invested considerable time and involvement with the Boy Scouts of America, where he eventually served as district commissioner.

In 1988 Tom and Dot took on a project that married their shared love of gardening and preserving family history: the restoration of Dot’s grandparents’ home and grounds near Wilton. Parts of the large seven-gabled house dated from the 1830s, with most other parts added between the 1870s and early 1900s. Vacant for 12 years, the house was uninhabitable, and any landscaping was completely overgrown.

Side by side, Tom and Dot took the house down to the studs, then supervised contractors who completed the restoration based on family pictures and Dot’s memory. They tackled the exterior landscaping, following Dot’s vision that landscaping is designing outdoor rooms, creating places to enjoy sitting and communing with nature. Tom and Dot equally enjoyed sharing their beautiful Seven Gables and its six acres with locals and visitors from beyond Granville County.

Both Tom and Dot were ardent members of the Granville Gardeners, of which Tom was a former president. The family requests that contributions in his memory be directed to the Granville Gardeners Scholarship Fund, which he was instrumental in establishing. Mailing address is PO Box 1261, Oxford, NC 27565.

Left to cherish Tom’s memory are his son, Thomas C. Jordan, IV, and wife, Karen C. Jordan of Raleigh; two granddaughters, Jessica Jordan of Raleigh, and Suzanne Jordan Lorentzen and husband, Craig, of Chapel Hill, NC.

A private celebration of Tom’s life will be held at Seven Gables at a later date. Gentry-Newell & Vaughan Funeral Home is serving the Jordan family.