Dr. Desmond Arthur Jordan MD

Hoboken, New Jersey, on November 2, 2020. Born in New York, New York, on

June 12, 1953, to Thelma and Victor Jordan and raised in Englewood, New

Jersey, “Desi” was a bright and mischievous kid. He grew up with his older sister

Ellen surrounded by family and friends including his cousins Kyle, Keris,

Alexander, Caroline, Nathan, Debbie, Paula, Mark, Hope, Yvonne, and Vanessa.

He excelled in community and school activities, and was an all-star musician and

drum major. He transitioned into Dr. Desmond Jordan through an impressive

academic journey that included Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, New

Jersey, Cornell University for his undergraduate degree in Ithaca, New York, and

Brown University Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, before going on

to become a resident at Harlem Hospital and serving in the United States Public

Health Service Commissioned Corps.

As a young adult, Dr. Desmond Jordan trained in anesthesiology, critical care

medicine, and research at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He

then joined the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)

Department of Anesthesiology in 1987, the same year his oldest daughter

Kristin was born. Dr. Jordan was the first director of the Cardiothoracic

Intensive Care Unit at CUIMC. In 2004 he was named both “Teacher of the

Year” for the department of anesthesia and New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s

“Doctor of the Year.”

His youngest daughter Lauren was born in 1989 and he actively cared for “the

girls” all while developing complex protocols for the care of heart and lung

transplant patients. He served everyone from the children of Ghana to politicians

to celebrities to the families of his medical colleagues with kindness and respect.

He donated his time to Doctors Without Borders, Mentoring In Medicine Inc.,

and to anyone who ever asked for help. He was a beloved educator, an author, a

pioneer in bioinformatics and healthcare technology, and a humorous physician

with an excellent bedside manner. All who knew Dr. Desmond Jordan will miss

his quick wit and his signature side eye.

Later in his life he enjoyed returning to his alma maters to proudly watch his

children graduate. He continued to grow in his career. His brilliance, humor, and

huge heart was treasured by a large circle of family, colleagues, students, and

friends. He was beloved. Dr. Desmond Jordan is preceded in death by his parents

Thelma and Victor Jordan; his aunt Roberta Myrick; his grandparents Thelma

Louise and Robert Bowens; and a number of cousins. He leaves behind his

daughters Kristin Jordan and Lauren Jordan (Jeff Newman), his sister Ellen

Jordan-Evans (Oliver Evans), his niece Lynette Tiernan (Nicholas Tiernan), his

uncles Robert Wilber Bowens Jr. and Dr. Howard Myrick, and his cousins Keris

Myrick, Kyle Myrick, Yvonne Mathews, Vanessa Mathews, Paula Dotson, Mark

Joseph, Nathan Joseph, Jason Bowens, Randall Bowens, Phillis

McCalla, Sandra Coleman, Wanda Sampson, and Brenda

Coleman; and a myriad of other family and friends.