By By LYDIA GRIMES Feature Writer
Judge Dave Jordan has been the District Judge in Escambia County for almost a year. He was appointed and took over the bench last January.
Jordan was born in Mississippi and grew up in Mt. Sterling in Choctaw County, Ala. on a farm near his grandparents. His father was a great influence on his becoming a lawyer.
He graduated from high school in 1977 in Choctaw County and enrolled at the University of Alabama and graduated from there in 1981 with a bachelor of arts degree. That very same year he was accepted into law school and began in the fall.
He went home and studied for the bar exam and then got a job clerking for Judge Edward McDermott in Mobile. That is where he met his future wife, Becky. She was from Brewton and had a two-year nursing degree. She had gone to Mobile to get her master's degree.
He was career oriented and had told his parents that he wouldn't get married until he was 30, but that was before he met Becky. They met through mutual friends and within a few months they were married in 1985.
Although they planned to continue to live in Mobile, it didn't quite work out that way.
We realized we were not happy in Mobile," he added, "but we were too spiritually immature to know that God was working with us. Law firms expect their lawyers to be a available at all times."
Everything came to a head at Christmas when he had to work instead of going to get a Christmas tree as they had planned. He promised his wife that they would get the tree and spend the whole afternoon together that Sunday. He was called by the office to come into work and that was the last straw for them.
They thought about moving to Brewton, Becky's home town, but no one from Brewton knew him.
The Jordan family moved to Brewton in June of 1989 and within a month, he was set up and in practice. At the end of the year he was asked to join the firm of Otts and Moore where he practiced for the next 14 years.
In 1990, Jordan was offered a partnership with the law firm. One of his favorite things about his career was that he was now in control of his time. It took about three years to get the business going and he felt as if he would never leave the firm.
Their family increased in 1991, when daughter Jill was born and and son Coale was born in 1994.
During the late 1990s, the Jordans were active and happy working in their community and church. Everything was going well, not only professionally, but spiritually as well.
Jordan stays busy with his many obligations connected to the judgeship but still takes time to spend with his family, and participate in community activities. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Brewton where he sings in the choir, is part of a quartet, teaches Sunday school and is a deacon. He is a member of Kiwanis Club, is president of Habitat for Humanity, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer of the YMCA, Chairman of Children's Policy Council for Escambia County and the official hamburger cook for the T.R. Miller Band Boosters.
On rare occasions, when he has the time, he loves to read and visit the beach at Gulf Shores.