Neal F. Jordan

Goodness and mercy all my days have surely followed me/And in God’s house forevermore my dwelling place shall be. For over nine decades Neal Francis Jordan knew the first thought to be true, and therefore departed his life on March 11, 2023 in New Braunfels, TX fully trusting in the promise of the second.

Born in Franklinville, NY, on July 8, 1932 just as the Great Depression hit full stride, Neal was the elder sone of Gerald H. and Nellie B. Roat Jordan. His family moved to Buffalo, NY in 1936, and he attended public schools there, graduating from South Park High School with an academic record that earned him scholarships that covered the 5 years then required to earn a degree in Engineering Physics from Cornell University. Following graduation from Cornell in 1955, Neal married the former Rose Alice Langendorfer and then served two years on active duty as a radar-repair-unit commander in the Army Ordnance Corps.

In 1957, his son Kirk Gerald Jordan was born just as Neal entered graduate studies at Purdue University. Supporting the family extended the process of earning a PhD in Engineering Sciences until the summer of 1963, at which point they moved to Tulsa, OK where he began a research career with Jersey Production Research, part of the Esso/Exxon family. In 1964, just before they moved from Tulsa to Houston, daughter Sarah Elizabeth Jordan joined the family.

In the thirty-five years he lived in Houston, the children left the nest, Rose died in 1992, and in 1994 Neal and Vaida Mikits Nikolic were married. In 1997 he retired from Exxon Production Research, where for the final 13 years he had managed Geophysical research for the Corporation.

In early 2000 Neal and Vaida moved to Canyon Lake where they have enjoyed the Hill Country and have been active in the local community. They have faithfully attended Saint Andrew Lutheran Church and have supported it and various local charities such as CRRC, Circle Arts Theater, and the Tye Preston Library, regularly securing matching grants for those organizations that qualified. For three years Neal kept property records and collected dues and fees from the 1400 members of the Canyon Lake Hills Property Owners Association. He was for four years president of the Devils’ Backbone Exxon/Mobil retirees club. For over 16 years he has regularly picked up roadside litter along the mile and half of Oblate Drive, and he has served as the substitute of last resort for a Tuesday afternoon bridge club. Neal’s intelligence, sense of humor and humanity earned him the love, respect, and admiration of all who knew him in the Canyon Lake community and his church.

Neal is survived by his loving and nurturing wife Vaida and by his children: Kirk of Coppell, TX, and Sarah Towler (husband Howell III) of Marietta, GA. Grandchildren are Paige E. Towler and Henry H. Towler IV of the greater Atlanta area, as well as Brian A. Jordan of Houston, TX. His only brother David L. Jordan died in 2017 leaving two sons, Joel and Andrew, plus his wife Elaine who lives in Lake-in-the-Hills, IL.

A funeral service will be held at St. Andrew Lutheran Church at Canyon Lake, TX. at 11:00 AM on Thursday, March 16, 2023. The family will receive friends from 10:00 A.M. – 11:00 AM prior to services. A funeral service will also be held at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home and Cemetery, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX. 77079, at 2:00 PM on Friday, March 17, 2023. The family will receive friends from 1:00 P.M. – 2:00 P.M. prior to services. Burial will follow at Memorial Oaks Cemetery at 3:00 P.M. A reception will follow from 3:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home.

Please sign the guestbook at www.doeppenschmidtfuneralhome.com