Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 15, 1993 TAG: 9308150123
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WILMINGTON, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
"He was a good man," said David Bridgers, a childhood friend of Jordan's son, basketball superstar Michael Jordan. "He never meant harm to anybody. He wouldn't do anything wrong. He treated me just like one of his sons."
Jordan, 57, died of a gunshot wound to the chest. His body was found Aug. 3 floating in a river in McColl, S.C., and identified Friday. Jordan's red Lexus 400 was found stripped in Fayetteville, N.C., on Aug. 5.
As state and federal authorities investigated his death, local residents who knew him the 20 years he lived in Wilmington were saddened by the news.
"It hurt me so bad I didn't know what to do," said Charles Holmes, a former neighbor on Gordon Road. "You get to know somebody when they live beside you. It's like they were one of the family.
"He went out of his way every time. He sure will be missed."
Rodney Everhart, a business partner of Michael Jordan's and friend of his father's, said James Jordan carried his pride in Michael with him wherever he went. He wore a championship ring Michael gave him after winning his first NBA title with the Chicago Bulls in 1991. He also wore a gold and silver watch Michael gave him after the Bulls repeated in 1992.
James Jordan was born in Wallace, N.C., the son of a sharecropper. He met Deloris Peoples in 1956 after a high school basketball game and married her a few years later.
Jordan supported his family by working at General Electric in Castle Hayne, N.C., for 19 years. He started as a forklift operator and worked his way up to procurement officer in charge of purchasing for the plant.
James and Deloris were proud of their five children, but Michael was special. James never missed a game during his son's three-year college career at North Carolina and rarely missed a game during his nine years with the Bulls.
Everhart said Jordan didn't miss a playoff game the last two years.
Everhart said he last saw Jordan in June, the day after the Bulls won a third consecutive championship. For the third consecutive year, his son had been voted the most valuable player of the final series.
"He was still in awe of his own child," Everhart said. "He said, `I just can't believe this. It's almost like a dream. I almost have to pinch myself that this could be happening to my son.' "
"He was never down," Everhart said. "No matter how bad personal things were going, you'd never know it.
"He was an extremely brilliant man to be a down-to-earth, ordinary guy. . . . He'd always tell you what to do in every situation, and he was always right."
Bridgers, a manager at Don's supermarket in Wilmington, said he came to see "Mr. J" as a surrogate father who paid no attention to the fact he was white. The Jordan home was a place where he could knock twice, let himself in and help himself to anything he wanted.
"There's two things he taught me I have to remember: The only man you have to impress is the man you see in the mirror, and if you see color, you're blind," he said.
Calvin Kelly, a co-worker at General Electric, remembers Jordan helping him hang curtains when he moved into his home.
Another former neighbor, Lynelle Williams, noted Jordan's sense of humor.
"You laughed the whole time you were with him," she said. "He was a great joker."
Joe Barfield, who was in charge of maintenance at the GE plant, said Jordan had a reputation at the plant for being able to find what was needed, even if he had to get on a private plane to get it.
"James was well-known before his son got involved in basketball," he said. "He was well-liked around the plant site and well-respected."
Jordan left the plant after he was caught in an investigation of GE employees. He pleaded guilty in 1985 to accepting a $7,000 kickback from a private contractor and was put on probation for five years.
He sold his house seven months later, and the Jordans moved from Wilmington. Michael was into his second NBA season by then.
"He was basically a good person," Barfield said. "I don't know how he got caught up in that other stuff."
by CNB