“Amazing Grace” was sung by candlelight at the Catonsville Y Saturday night as about 150 friends, family, associates, members and parents gathered to remember Jordan Taylor, whose life was violently taken at his home two weeks ago.
Amazing grace indeed.
Over the last few days since his death, stories have been emerging which describe Jordan Taylor as a young man who was full of grace, modesty, kindness, deep intelligence, a dry wit and selflessness. An intellectually curious young man who graduated Summa Cum Laude from Lynchburg College, followed by a Master’s Degree in history at James Madison University (he was also pursuing a second Masters in Education at UMBC), Jordan was a modest person who spent the last ten years as a Y associate filling various roles, including Camp Counselor, Camp Director and Sports & Teen Director, among them. With all the Y promotions and changing job titles along the way, the title that stuck was “Coach Jordan,” which was usually said with breathless enthusiasm by the many, many children whose lives he touched throughout Y programs at and around the Catonsville Y.
During the vigil Saturday night, story after story was shared, including by Y preschool parents who will never forget the impact Jordan had on their children’s lives, and by an endless stream of associates (both former and current camp counselors among them) who went out of their way to attend the vigil, pay their respects to Jordan and his family and to share touching and funny memories indelibly etched in their hearts about this special young man.
A rock of strength herself, Dawn Chrystal-Wolfe, the District Executive Director of the Y in Catonsville, spoke at his funeral on Thursday as well as the vigil on Saturday night. Below are excerpts of her moving memories of Jordan Taylor:
“Over the weekend, I came across a job recruiting ad for the Y stating the organization was looking for “change-makers” and I instantly thought to myself, that is exactly what Jordan was. He indeed changed the lives of everyone he interacted with. Jordan was genuine in all of his interactions. He took the time to get to know people on a personal level and made them feel valued. He instructed and interacted with hundreds of children through his sports classes, on the rock wall or in the camp program and he knew almost every child by name.
Jordan earned celebrity status in the Center because he made a point of trying to learn something personal about each child in order to connect with them, to build a relationship with them and make them feel special.
He had a tremendous amount of patience with the kids, at least for the most part! When he would have behavior problems with the kids, he didn’t hold anything back and would tell them that he was going to eat their birthday cake or take some of their Halloween candy or when he needed to pull out the big stops, he would tell them he was making a call to Santa! That really seemed to nip behavior problems right in the bud!
When Jordan was asked to step into the Camp Director role in the middle of the camp season, he was hesitant to accept the role for personal reasons. Always the family man, Jordan was concerned about having enough time to spend with his beautiful wife (whom he met and courted at Y Camp when they were both counselors) before she started school in the fall. He knew that if he accepted the position, he was going to do what it took to make needed improvements.
At the opening of the camp counselor meeting held the next day, I announced the change in leadership and the counselors broke into a resounding applause followed by cheers! It was hard for Jordan to hold back a smile. I will never forget that heartwarming moment because I think he was genuinely surprised by the response.
Parents of children in Y programs took notice of Jordan’s positive influence as well. They admired how his gentle nudging motivated children to climb a little higher on the Rock Wall and push themselves a little more. Most importantly, Jordan shared stories with parents about their children’s accomplishments, which as a parent myself I can tell you meant so much to know that he cared for, valued and knew them each individually.
Losing Jordan has not been only felt amongst his family or his friends or his Y family, but amongst everyone in our community and beyond because Jordan was an example to us all and he made the world a better place. Jordan truly was a change-maker.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Jordan’s family has shown amazing grace and strength as well throughout this horrific ordeal. His parents bravely stood Saturday night to join in the chorus of those sharing warm memories of Jordan. They each spoke of the Y as more than an institution, but as a family of which they are, and forever will be, an enduring part. His mom in fact shared that she initially joined the Y about six years ago as a way of trying to heal after another long and difficult ordeal.
May we all take comfort in this difficult time knowing that the work we are doing does indeed make a significant difference in people’s lives. As was true with Jordan, we are all here to be change-makers. In Jordan’s name and as a way of honoring the memory of this remarkable young man, may we all climb just a little higher and go just a little further to bring comfort and joy to all those we encounter.
To assure Jordan Taylor is always remembered, a special, living tribute is being planned and, with Jordan’s parents' permission, will very shortly be shared with the Y community and Jordan’s extended network of family and friends.
May Jordan rest in peace and continue to inspire all of us to make a real difference in people’s lives every day.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland