Jordan Coleman

Jordan Lake Coleman loved being the center of attention and being humorous and witty was his way of getting it. He was loyal to those he loved, and in spite of a stubborn streak that showed itself most often during competition, he was good-natured and a tender hearted teddy bear. Although sometimes sassy and opinionated, he used that same inner strength to stand up for what he thought was right.

The year 1988 saw many memorable events. It was an Olympic year where the world watched the summer Olympics take place in Seoul, South Korea and later that year the winter games came to us from Calgary, Canada. George Bush Senior won the presidential election and in a music first CD’s outsold vinyl albums for the first time on the strength of the album of the year, U2’s Joshua Tree. In was in this year Jordan was born in Loudon County, Tennessee, on February 2, 1988, to John and Julia Coleman. He weighed almost ten pounds at birth and his big sister noted that he was "nearly all head." From the day he was born, Jordan was very sensitive to sounds. He had a pained expression whenever his mother spoke to him, and every sound garnered a turn of his head. When his mom turned the radio on, his face lit up. The family stayed in the small community outside of Knoxville until Jordan was six months old, then moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan. As a baby, Jordan always wanted to be fed, a characteristic that stuck with him through the years. He wasn't too fussy as an infant. He continued to react strongly to the way things sounded, and throughout his life, the tone and presentation of language determined his reaction to it. Politeness and respect were important to him, and for a long time his mother could only get him to do thing by saying please three times. He had a playful, lovable side, quickly discovered by his Grandma Juanita. She said she fell in love with him when he was very little, on the day he discovered that rolling around on the floor made her laugh. He did it over and over again, for his entertainment as much as hers.

He seemed to become more sensitive and temperamental as a toddler. When he was mad, he would say, "I'm going to my room," and leave. He was also quite headstrong, and at his kindergarten orientation he refused to leave until he was allowed to shoot a basket at the basketball hoop because he felt it was an important test. Even as he started attending Kettering School, he always sought the attention and approval of others. This was not always an easy thing for him as his open and accepting personality and unassuming nature sometimes made Jordan the easy one to pick on. This was difficult for him for many years, but he actually worked very hard on his self-control. He learned how to get away by himself after conflict and sort out his emotions. Like an Old Soul, if he had an opinion about something he could not be swayed, so his mother used to call him, "My little old man."

Jordan had a variety of health issues, starting with allergies to things like cut grass and tree pollen, cats, dust, and twenty-three other things. He began going to the orthodontist at age eight, and when he was twelve he had toe surgery, vision surgery, a broken arm, and a colon polyp, all in the same year. He would have participated in basketball at school, but his knees sometimes popped out of place due to a genetic disorder. His strength of will didn't let any of that stop him from living an active life, however.

Before Jordan entered the third grade, the family moved to Ann Arbor where Jordan attended Pattengill Elementary, Tappan Middle School, and most recently Pioneer High School. During this time, he tried numerous activities, including karate, wrestling, violin, singing, theater, baseball, volleyball, basketball, hunting, and fishing. He really enjoyed his experience on the volleyball team. Jordan was often a poor sport and didn't seem to understand the spirit of competition; however, he learned many valuable lessons from that team, including a sense of individual contribution and team camaraderie that were valuable tools for him. Jordan also loved to play basketball and talked a lot of trash, once telling his dad that during a pick up game, he had beaten Moses Malone while "dunking in his face". Of course, his dad asked which five-foot rim he had been playing on. The two of them had a lot of fun and enjoyed competing with each other. Jordan took great pride in being taller than his dad and once beat him 120 to 0 on Madden football using the same play over and over again. Dad just couldn't stop it.

Jordan was always an eater. Nothing made his day like a prime cut of junk food. The refrigerator was always a problem, and his parents finally stopped stocking prepared meats and cheeses for the week because Jordan would eat them all within hours. The last couple of years, Jordan's most used phrase was, "But there's nothing to eat." That was partially true since Mom and Dad stocked fruits, veggies, and grains, but that wasn't food to Jordan. In addition to eating, he loved to cook.

Jordan's parents were often homebodies, but Jordan loved to go on trips. Some trips he especially enjoyed were holidays at Grandpa John and Grandma Darlene's and Christmases at Grandma Carol's. Jordan and his mom made a genealogy trip to Tennessee and explored some caves. The family spent one Christmas at the cabin and Jordan talked about it for years after, particularly remembering the old motorcycle that was there. He wanted to sit on it, but no one was around to help and it fell on him. The family spent a lot of time at Silver Lake. Summers were spent swimming and fishing in the boat. In the fall, they built blinds and duck hunted. His parents thought that Jordan's favorite part was the camo face paint and calling the ducks and geese. Every summer, the family made a trip to Cedar Point. Jordan would never ride the big rides until one year when he went with his sister, mother and friends. They wouldn't go, but Jordan rode the Raptor and the Millennium all by himself, getting pictures to prove to Dad he had done it. The next time they went, Jordan and his dad spent the day together and rode all the big stuff and had a good ol' time.

Jordan had a strong sense of justice and stood up for those whom he thought needed help. He hated to fight, but would step in to stop one, always standing up for the underdog. He was very respectful of women and would never hit a girl; in fact, he recently took twenty blows from a girl before she was stopped. When he was just five years old, someone called his mom "Honey." He walked up and said, "Don't call her honey, she's married to my dad." He appeared tough on the outside, but he was soft on the inside.

Jordan never wanted to talk, he needed to talk. At the age of fourteen, he began using his active imagination and his love for music to express himself by writing rap songs. He did it as a way to entertain others and express his opinions. He could be boisterous and loud, but in private he was modest and reserved.

Jordan was very close to his older sister Jessica. Growing up is never easy, and the pair shared many of life's most precious and most challenging experiences. She tied his shoes until he was eight. For years, they did not call each other by name. Jordan seemed to only know her as "sister." As they became teens, she didn't care for that anymore and it took Jordan a long time and a lot of Jessica's correction to "re-learn" her name, much to her frustration. They worked through things, though. Jordan wasn't always the easiest person to reason with, but he was very quick to forgive. With his family especially, he demonstrated unconditional love and acceptance.

Jordan died on Wednesday, December 8, 2004. Jordan's family includes his parents; his sister, Jessica Rhea Marie Coleman; paternal grandfather, John Homer (Darlene) Coleman; paternal grandmother, Carol Jean Hall; maternal grandfather, Francis Xavier Vasher; maternal grandmother, Juanita Faye (Joe Bradley) Vasher; paternal great grandmothers, Eunice Coleman and Nell Collister; maternal great grandmother, Julia Theresa Vasher; and aunts and uncles, Rebecca (John) Shelburne, Rhonda Coleman, Venus Vasher, Frank Vasher, Faye (Kevin) Winters, Patrick (Wesley) Vasher, and their families.

Friends may spend time with Jordan's family at the Nie Life Story Funeral Home - Ann Arbor, on Thursday, December 16, from 5 - 8 p.m., and again on Friday, December 17, from 1:00 p.m. until the time of the funeral service at 7:00 p.m. Interment will be private. Please visit Jordan's personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory or, sign the guestbook. In lieu of flowers memorial contribution in Jordan’s memory may be made to the family for a Jordan Coleman Memorial Fund or to the youth based charity of your choice.