Everett Milton Jordan, a 35-year employee of the Penn Central Railroad who had unyielding devotion to his church, family and friends and a passion for his hobbies, sports and music, died of undetermined causes Thursday at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 87 and suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
Known by his middle name or the nickname "Top," Mr. Jordan was born in Elizabeth, N.J. At a young age, he moved with his parents to southeastern Virginia, where he graduated from high school.
He married Rose Jordan in 1939, and the couple moved to Baltimore the next year. He took a job as a freight and baggage handler for the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Mr. Jordan enlisted in the Army in 1943, and his service in an engineer's aviation battalion included 15 months in Hawaii. During his military service, Mr. Jordan's wife died.
After the war, he returned to the railroad in Baltimore and handled mail freight at Penn Station until retiring in 1975.
He also played baseball as a catcher with the Post Office League for more than 10 years, and after his days as an active player he taught the game and other recreational activities to his children and youngsters in the Druid Hill Park area.
Married in 1949 to Mary L. Smith, the couple made their home on Ruskin Avenue near the park for more than half a century.
Family members described Mr. Jordan as a "quiet and gentle man who touched the hearts of everyone he encountered." He was also a resourceful jack-of-all-trades who "could do almost anything he set his mind to," said a son, E. Joe Lewis Smith of Lochearn.
He handled numerous home improvements, including plumbing and concrete work, and enjoyed playing guitar and the organ.
His most enduring hobby, a product of his professional career, was assembling his model Lionel train set, which he operated every Christmas for more than 40 years.
He was ordained as a deacon at Union Temple Baptist Church in the late 1950s and Good Shepherd Baptist Church in the early 1990s. He was also a member of Good Shepherd's Progressive Senior Ministry, a group that encourages senior citizen church activities.
Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Good Shepherd, 3459 Park Heights Ave.
In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Jordan is survived by three other sons, Everett E. Jordan of Randallstown, Colonel Lee Obidiah Smith of Woodlawn and Benjamin A. Smith of New York City; two daughters, Gladys "Dutchess" Jordan and Mary Theresa Smith, both of Baltimore; three sisters, Gladys Martin, Lottie Jordan and Helen Stewart, all of Baltimore; a godchild, Maggie Sanders of Baltimore; 11 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.