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Date published: 12/17/2009
Ronald Jordan
Ronald Jordan, 72, of Spotsylvania County died Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, at his residence. Ronald Jordan was a native of Henderson, N.C. He attended elementary and high school at Henderson Institute. Always having an interest in music and drama, Ronald was an outstanding performer in the Henderson Institute band and won several awards for his work in drama. Ronald was always active in the church, where he once served as the Sunday school superintendent at his home church, Spring Street Baptist Church, while still in high school. Ronald would graduate as one of the most-popular students in one of the largest graduating classes from Henderson Institute at the time. After graduation, Ronald would be the first in his family to attend college, pursuing his interest in music. In 1955, he began his college career and a lifelong affinity for Virginia State College in Petersburg. He was voted "king," signifying the outstanding male freshman during orientation week in 1955. His popularity did not diminish for the remainder of his time at Virginia State College. Again, he would excel in his musical endeavors, as well as the theater where he won several awards. It was also at Virginia State that he pledged and became a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc in 1959. He would later become a charter member of the Tau Rho Chapter in Fredericksburg, where he would also serve as Basileus. In 1960, amid the racial and social challenges of the era, teaching positions in the arts were hard to find. However, in 1960, Essex County schools in Tappahannock, called. It is noteworthy that when Ronald went to Essex, there was no band program. He would go on to not only establish the Essex High School band, but also begin a heritage as a band director that would follow for the rest of his teaching career. While in Essex, he would also meet and eventually marry Vincent Ealy. Vincent, from Bluefield, W.Va., was also a teacher. They married in November of 1966 and had their first child, Sean Christopher in 1968. After 10 years of service to the Essex County public schools, he would move his talents further north to the city of Fredericksburg in the fall of 1971, where he became the band director at James Monroe High School.
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