Rene Jordan
BORN WIENER NEUSTADT, AUSTRIA, APRIL 3 1932. DIED BIRMINGHAM, APRIL 19 2013, AGED 81.
WHILE HIS work as a GP was paramount, Dr Rene Phillip Jordan played a vital role in the Birmingham University Chaplaincy Board. It came at the instigation of Rabbi Shmuel Arkush, who, troubled by the lack of support for Jewish students, invited him to join a committee to consider the issues. This resulted in the establishment of the Midland Region Chaplaincy Board in 1981.
Rene devoted much time to crosscommunal work and public service. The son of Charlotte and Dr Aladar Jakobovits, uncle of the late Emeritus Chief Rabbi, six-year-old Rene escaped Austria just before the Anschluss in 1938 with his parents and older brother. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the family reached Birmingham as refugees.
During wartime, Rene and his family were frequently woken up at night by air-raid sirens and forced to flee to the Anderson shelter. One morning, he went to school to find nothing but a heap of rubble.
He studied medicine at Birmingham University, taking over his father’s practice after he died. He eventually changed his name to Jordan and, in 1959, he met Egyptian-born Sylvia Lupasco. They married in 1961 and had three daughters: Lydia, Ingrid and Tania.
As a GP, Rene was respected enormously by his peers. He was dedicated to his Judaism, a source of comfort since his early refugee years, and gave unstintingly of his energies to the Park Road Synagogue in Moseley. Like his father, he became president and eventually life president.
A governor of the King David primary school, he was also involved with the communal umbrella organisation, Birmingham Representative Council.
Rene instilled a love of Judaism into his daughters and grandchildren and took immense pride in their achievements.
Anaccomplisheddancer,ReneandSylviawonmanydancingconteststogether. He was also a seasoned traveller and collector. Rene retired in 1990 and recently became chairman of the social committee at the retirement flats where he lived, organising many lively outings for the residents. He is survived by his three daughters and grandchildren Sophia, Josh, Theo and Zara.
LYDIA DRUKARZ