James R. Jordan Sr.
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James Raymond Jordan Sr. (July 31, 1936 – July 23, 1993) was the father of former
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player Michael Jordan, and was the grandfather of former basketball players Jeffrey Jordan and
Marcus Jordan Marcus James Jordan (born December 24, 1990) is an American former college basketball player who played for the UCF Knights men's basketball team.
.


Life

James Jordan Sr. was born in
Wallace, North Carolina Wallace is a town in Duplin and Pender counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,880 at the 2010 census. The Pender County portion of Wallace is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The W. Sto ...
, on July 31, 1936. While attending Charity High School, he met Deloris Peoples (born September 1941). The two began dating and remained together for the next three years. Upon graduation, Jordan Sr. joined the
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
and was stationed in
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. In 1956, he transferred to a base in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and married Peoples shortly thereafter. Their first child, son James Ronald "Ronnie" Jr., was born the following year. Jordan Sr. left the Air Force and got a job at a textile mill in Wallace. The Jordans had two more children: daughter Deloris, and a son,
Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...
. In 1963, the Jordans left their children with Jordan Sr.'s mother and moved to
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
so that he could receive mechanic's training on the
G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
. He studied airplane hydraulics, while Peoples found work at a bank. While living in Brooklyn, the Jordans had another child, son Michael. As crime began to increase in Brooklyn in the 1960s, the Jordans moved back to North Carolina to raise their children in a safer environment. Upon completing his 18 months' training, Jordan Sr. and his family moved to
Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...
. It was there that the couple's fifth child, Roslyn, was born. A lifelong
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
fan, Jordan Sr. played a large role in inspiring his son Michael to become an athlete and traveled the United States to follow his son's career, first at the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
and then with the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
. Nonetheless, Jordan Sr. was also a very big
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
fan, having gone semi-pro himself. In his autobiography and in interviews throughout his career, son Michael recounted that it was his father's vision that he become a baseball star. Baseball was, in fact, the first sport Jordan Sr. had taught him to play. Michael recounted that this was a major factor in his decision to try baseball after his first retirement from the NBA. In her memoir ''In My Family's Shadow'', Jordan Sr.'s daughter Deloris accused her father of sexually molesting her between the ages of 8 and 16.


Death

On July 23, 1993, while returning home after spending the day playing golf, Jordan Sr. pulled over on US Highway 74 just south of
Lumberton, North Carolina Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,025. It is the seat of Robeson County's government. Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lu ...
, to take a nap. Daniel Andre Green and Larry Martin Demery spotted the car Michael had recently purchased for him (a red
Lexus SC400 The is a grand tourer that was retailed by Lexus (a luxury vehicle division of Toyota), and built from 1991 until 2010. It features a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive design and seating for up to four passengers. The first-generation SC debuted as ...
with the North Carolina license plate that read "UNC0023"). Green shot Jordan to death while he slept in his car and then stole the vehicle. His body was found on August 3 in a swamp in
McColl, South Carolina McColl is a town in Marlboro County, South Carolina, United States. It lies in the state's Pee Dee region, from the North Carolina border. The population was 2,174 at the 2010 census. McColl is the home of the Pee Dee Indian Tribe. They are a ...
. As his body was in a state of extreme decomposition, Jordan Sr. was not identified until August 13 with the help of
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provided by the family dentist; his body had previously been cremated by the coroner due to lack of storage space, but his jaw and hands were preserved for identification. After going through Jordan Sr.'s belongings, Green and Demery realized that Jordan Sr. was the father of Michael Jordan. They had taken other items from the car, including two
NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...
rings given to Jordan Sr. by his son. Green and Demery made several calls from Jordan Sr.'s cell phone and as a result were immediately captured. After their arrest, Demery said that they had planned only to tie up their victim and that Green pulled the trigger for no reason. Both were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The accusation was based only on Demery's testimony; Green did not testify. Defense counsel Woodberry Bowen said Demery had everything to gain by lying that Green was the triggerman, and that Green's testimony put Demery closer than he earlier admitted. James Jordan Sr. was buried at Rockfish AME Church in
Teachey, North Carolina Teachey is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 376 at the 2010 census. Geography Teachey is located in southwestern Duplin County at (34.769292, -78.006933). U.S. Route 117 passes through the center of town ...
, on August 15, 1993. In 2010, it was revealed the case was one of nearly 200 that were in review after the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation found that laboratory technicians mishandled or omitted evidence. However, the Jordan case was later removed from the list. On July 23, 2018, Christine Mumma, executive director of the Center on Actual Innocence, said evidence showed Green did not commit the murder. Green claimed Demery merely asked him for help disposing of the body. On August 3, 2018, Superior Court Judge Winston Gilchrist ruled on several motions and set a December date for a hearing. On December 5, 2018, Mumma asked Gilchrist to allow a closer look at evidence that could lead to a new trial, and Gilchrist said he would rule later. Gilchrist said on March 6, 2019, that he would not grant Green a hearing, and Mumma said she would appeal. In August 2020, Demery was approved for
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
; he was scheduled for release on August 6, 2023. In December of 2021, it was announced that the state of North Carolina had terminated his scheduled parole release.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, James R. Sr. 1936 births 1993 deaths 1993 murders in the United States American murder victims Burials in North Carolina Deaths by firearm in North Carolina Male murder victims Murdered African-American people People from Wallace, North Carolina People from Wilmington, North Carolina People murdered in North Carolina United States Air Force officers