Bartholomew Michael Jordano

Bart's greatest wish was to live to September 28, 2026, so he could be 100 years old. In many ways, through math and rounding up when the remainder is over 5 or 99 years and seven months put him over the tier of 3 placed numbers. He received a medal on navy blue ribbon just like the Olympians do so he wore the medal every day losing it and calling for assistance until it was found. He loved being outstanding and having an identity again. Bart found retirement challenging because his friends have already passed on and because after turning 95 and four accidents within 2 months, he generously gave up driving, as his own idea. Such concern and compassion for others were just part of what made him so loveable. Bart was born September 28,1926 in Port Reading, NJ to John and Irene Jordano. He allegedly weighed 14 pounds when he was weighed on a chicken scale. Always proud of his Italian heritage, he treasured his Italian relatives as well as the Hungarian traditions from his mother's heritage. Port Reading was populated with many who had come through Ellis Island, vibrant, creative, and family focused people all who influenced shaping his outlook on life, education, and his religion. After completing his early education, he applied to Cornell University in Ithica, NY, where he earned a BS in Engineering. Bart was proud of being a Cornellian, looked at each yearbook that was published and could not understand why he never found any of his fellow classmates who joined the Navy during WWII. Through rough housing he broke his shoulder bone and could not go on the last mission to test the Atom Bomb, but he did drive all of them to the airplane. God mercifully spared Bart the radiation illness that took so many lives. When the war ended, Bart returned to Cornell and earned a BS in Engineering. He started a career and a family at the same time. Bart's family of 7 children allowed him time for family life and his own agency, in the electrical manufacturing industry, enjoying the action so much worked until he was 70. Family life changed as the children launched their own lives, cancer took his wife and a daughter, age claimed a daughter, and Covid claimed one son. Bart remarried and traveled with Barbara everywhere he wanted to experience: Italy, British Isles, Germany, Austria, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and Tibet. Lisa, his youngest, still lives at home and daily is driven to work at Mystic Casino. An exceptional blessing in retirement was spending two years living with the Trappist monks at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina. Work there was coordinating the building of the Claire Booth Luce Library and installing geothermal energy. Bart loved the monastic life of praying several times each day and being part of a religious community. Bart loved his life and his belief that God was very good to him, blessing him beyond measure, and giving him each new day. When asked how he was, his response was always "I'm alive". He loved being among people, seeing the changes as areas developed, and those who shared time with him. Bart loved our Bichons, the current two are Pablo Picasso and [Please Sir, I'd like some] Mo. For the longest time he would drive to a farm to buy organic, grass-fed beef, cook it, add beans with mild chili sauce to feed them, weighing out food to the ounce to assure they stayed healthy. In more recent times Mo and Pablo slept with him at naptime, sat with him in his recliner, and walked across to him to get to the window to see who was coming in the courtyard serving as gentle guards and companions. As the hospice people arrived, Mo was convinced they were there to play with her and share her toys. Bart slipped away on April 17 leaving Barbara and Lisa to take care of Mo and Pablo. Many thanks to the kindness of Methodist Park Nicollet Hospice, to special friends Bob Bliss and Kathy Williams who talked, listened, and laughed with Bart after he lost his mobility.

Bartholomew Michael Jordano

September 28, 1926 - April 17, 2026

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