Marie Josephine (Manning) Jordan, age 89, died peacefully at home on Monday, January 24, 2022, after a long illness. She was proud of her life as a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Marie asked to be remembered by the poem "Crossing the Bar" written in 1889 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, that she learned in school nearly 75 years ago:

" Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar."

Marie was born in Bridgeport, CT, on December 2, 1932, to Joseph and Hazel (Peterson) Manning, and grew up in Bridgeport and Stratford, CT, graduating from Stratford High School in 1950. Four years later she married William Carroll Jordan, and they built a life together for 66 years before he passed away in 2020. For over two decades, theirs was a life of military service and relocation, where they had three sons in three different duty stations. In their retirement years they returned to Connecticut and lived in Durham, Berlin and Manchester. Marie lived a quiet life and was filled with spirituality inspired by the many years of faith that she found in the Episcopal Church. In her last days she enjoyed listening to audio recordings of the Episcopal Hymnal of 1940, many of which she sang as a teenager in the Choirs at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Bridgeport and Christ Episcopal Church in Stratford.

Marie's passing saddens her family: sons David (Jody) of Sarasota, FL; Mark (Lisa Careau) of Northampton, MA; and Bill (Kristen) of Fulshear, TX. She is fondly remembered by her seven grandchildren: Daniel (Lauren Woodard) of New Haven, CT; Zachary (Sarah) of Nashville, TN; Ben Jordan-Careau (Jen) of Medway, MA; Tyler Jordan of Boston, MA; Connor Jordan of Southborough, MA; and step-granddaughters Melissa Davenport of Houston, TX, and Angie Davenport of Tallahassee, FL. She was especially adoring of her two great-grandchildren: Jacob Woodard Jordan of New Haven, CT, and Margaret (Maggie) Morel Jordan of Nashville, TN. Marie was the last member of her family, predeceased by her father, Joseph Manning; her mother, Hazel (Peterson) Manning; her sisters Pauline, Frances Fernald (Jim) and baby Dorothy; and her brother Joseph (Bonnie).

In her final year, Marie was cared for by the wonderful and talented Ms. Adwoa Tabi, to whom the Jordan family extends gratitude for not just her care but her companionship. Her final weeks were greatly aided and comforted by the Hospice Care team at ECHN Visiting Nurse & Health Services of Connecticut, and especially the wonderful caring of Ms. Erin Dutton, RN. Hospice nurses are truly angels walking amongst us.

"God is with us, even in suffering. It is the assurance, as from a parent, as from an angel, as from a savior: it is okay." – Michael Gerson

"And even at the extreme of death: 'All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.'" -- Julian of Norwich, 14 ^th century

Marie's final wishes will be honored by her family: her cremated ashes will be scattered to the winds at the seashore, so she will be forever free.

To offer the family online condolences please visit www.dennisanddarcy.com