Dr. Marion Jordan, burn center doctor
Dr. Marion Jordan of Edgewater, who directed burn victim treatment at MedStar Hospital Center in Washington and treated survivors injured in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack at the Pentagon, died Sept. 28 in a fatal automobile crash in Glen Burnie. He was 74.
Dr. Jeffrey Shupp, director of MedStar’s burn center, said Dr. Jordan was a caregiver who “took care of the patients from head to toe.”
Jason Woods, president of the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation, said Dr. Jordan’s death is a tough loss for the community of emergency responders.
“The detail that everybody remembers is that he was such a kind person to everyone,” Mr. Woods said.
Marion Harvey Jordan was born July 19, 1944, in Carrollton, Ga., the son of Harvey and Ila Jordan. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from West Georgia College in 1965, and a doctorate from the Medical College of Georgia in 1969, according to his published obituary.
He began his career in burn care in 1978 as medical director of The Burn Center at MedStar, where he worked for many years.
Dr. Shupp said that Dr. Jordan stood out as someone who didn’t just focus on what he was tasked with treating, but took the time to consider the entirety of a patient’s needs.
“He’d sit down to talk with people,” said Dr. Shupp. “He was always working. He was always here before everyone else and leaving after everyone else had left.”
Those qualities endeared him to local firefighters, who started the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation in 2004 in part to support Dr. Jordan’s work in Washington. In a statement posted to social media, the foundation noted Dr. Jordan’s work treating victims injured in the attack on the Pentagon, and said: “He was a close friend of the fire service and well respected by the firefighters, burn teams and burn survivors around the country.”
In a statement on social media, MedStar also noted the doctor’s work after 9/11. The hospital wrote that Dr. Jordan was “one of our longtime beloved physicians” who led the burn and trauma teams that “received worldwide recognition for their expertise and skills, particularly after the attack on the Pentagon” on 9/11.
Dr. Shupp, who started under Dr. Jordan’s tutelage in 2007, said his mentor had a combination of a winning personality and a steadfast approach to treatment. He called Dr. Jordan “unflappable” and said he “never saw him get stressed or lose his composure.”
It was Dr. Jordan’s example that encouraged Dr. Shupp to specialize in treating burns, ultimately becoming the director of the center. Dr. Jordan retired in 2013. In addition to his involvement with the firefighters’ burn foundation, Dr. Jordan was involved in the American Burn Association and the International Association of Firefighters, according to his obituary.
He collected and restored antique American motorcycles and enjoyed fishing on the Chesapeake Bay. Mr. Woods said Dr. Jordan was a regular on fishing trips organized with firefighters and emergency personnel during rockfish season.
Dr. Jordan’s family will receive friends at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium NRoom, 511Taylor Ave., Annapolis, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15. A Celebration of Life service will be held there at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Dr. Jordan was preceded in death by his wife, Cheryl Jordan. He is survived by a son, Marion "Harvey" Jordan Jr. of Georgia; a daughter, Abigail "Holly" Battle of Florida; and four grandchildren.