Merle M. Jordan

Merle Jordan, neé Teschner, age 87, passed away peacefully on August 12, 2022. Merle was born March 10, 1935, in Fredericksburg, Texas, the only child to Charley and Frieda Teschner, second generation descendants of German immigrants who settled in Gillespie County Texas.

Merle loved her hometown greatly and liked to share memories of her childhood. She especially enjoyed talking about her grandparents’ farm in the scenic hill country and how the whole family helped at harvest time. She enjoyed telling other stories about the farm as well as local town lore. Charley and Frieda had a small farm near town where she helped raise her first dog, Duke, and where she would walk several miles to get to school. She always emphasized her first language was German and she did not learn English until she began her education. Merle loved to speak about meeting and having her picture taken as a young girl with Fredericksburg native and Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the WWII Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, at his tribute visit in Fredericksburg on October 13, 1945. She cherished her large family of aunts, uncles and cousins.

After high school Merle moved to Austin in 1952 to attend the University of Texas where she started dating her future husband, Ernest Jordan, whom she met in high school. At UT Merle was inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society in 1953 and into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society in 1955. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with High Honors in January of 1956 and received her Master’s degree in English in June of 1959. Merle was a teacher’s assistant during her time at UT and performed her student teaching in Victoria, Texas.

On June 20, 1958, Merle and Ernest married at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg. They moved to Augusta, Georgia, where Ernest began his army service at Fort Gordon and in 1959 they had their son Shaun, whom Merle was always very proud of. They returned to Austin in October of 1960 after Ernest completed his military service. On February 27, 1961, Merle began a 30-year career teaching Senior English and Humanities at the Austin High School Rio Grande campus. In 1975 the school moved to the new Cesar Chavez location on the shores of what was then known as Town Lake. As a teacher Merle touched many lives and liked reminiscing about her students who included famous alumni such as sports celebrities and a Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning writer. She retired on June 1, 1990.

Merle and Ernest enjoyed looking at real estate together and loved going out in the local music scene at various clubs around Austin long before Austin became known as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” They enjoyed listening to many music artists who later became famous nationally. Ernest was an artist and Director of Art for Texas Highways magazine, and they enjoyed attending art shows and collecting local art together. She attended bass fishing trips with Ernest, and they had a camper and took vacations with their son in Texas and throughout the United States during the 1970s. After they retired they enjoyed traveling on three tours of Europe and seeing many European countries.

Merle had a soft spot for stray dogs and loved her adopted dogs Button and Muffin and her grand dogs Beau and Max Jordan. She was known in the neighborhood for walking everyday with her dog and visiting with the many friends she had made throughout the years. After Ernest’s death Merle moved to The Conservatory at North Austin in 2018 and got reacquainted with dear old friends and made many new ones. In August of 2021 her health necessitated her move to Buckner Villas skilled nursing facility where she had the help of many wonderful people.

Merle is survived by her son, Shaun Jordan, and grand dog Max.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to your animal charity of choice or the American Heart Association.