Derek Lindolph Leroy Jordan

Derek Lindolph Leroy Jordan was born on January 21, 1937 to David Gall and Muriel Griffith in St. Michael, Barbados. He was a “city boy,” having spent his formative years in several areas of Bridgetown, and his aunt Edna helped raised him. He was born in the same year that there were depressing social and economic conditions on the island, and on July 26, 1937, social unrest erupted in Bridgetown. Intensifying on July 27, it soon spread to some rural districts. Known as the 1937 Labor Rebellion, these events ushered in a period of socio-political change. Derek spent some time with his paternal grandmother, who though blind, was a woman of some means relative to the general population in Barbados at that time. So much so that she was able to give him $100.00 in the late 1950’s to purchase a “Raleigh” bicycle. With inflation, that $100.00 is now worth almost $1000.00 in 2020 $’s Derek received his education at the “Barbados Academy,” commonly referred to as the “Rudder School,” compliments again of his grandmother, since it was a private institution that required a substantial sum in school fees. One of his many talents was his ability to narrate stories in his big booming voice, and all of his siblings were well aware of the incident when he was falsely accused of stealing another student’s pen. Derek was Muriel’s first born, and he and I had had different biological fathers. After leaving school, the first job that I can remember job had was as at Hanschell Inniss rum bond in Bridgetown. Since my father was not really in our lives as he should have been, Derek was a father to me and my other siblings, Muriel’s other four children. We knew that we could always rely on Derek to provide us with “pocket money,” and we would often visit his work place to seek him out for a little change. In addition to the above, one of my earliest memories of his kind-heartedness was when the Coney Island came to Barbados in the early 1960’s. He won several prizes on the games, and he brought all of them to our mother’s house as a gift to her. These items were of such a high quality, that they lasted even into my teenage years and beyond. In 1970, Derek got a job at the Holiday Inn as a waiter, and he was eventually promoted to bartender. He loved that job, and this is where he regaled us more interesting stories at that institution- From the friends he made, to the visitors to the island with whom he kept in contact and the many funny events he witnessed or in which he participated. Derek immigrated to the USA in 1978 where he joined Margo who came a few months before him. He loved living in NY, and where he lived on Ralph Avenue was in close proximate to everything. You just jumped in a “gypsy” cab and you were at the train station. He learned to drive in NY (of all places) and he bought his first car. He eventually made a career at the Bank of New York where he worked in the mailroom room. He spent 23 years at BNY, retiring in 2005. This was another job he loved, and as you can guess, more interesting stories- from the various machines he operated to do his job, to the many incidents he encountered on his way home at midnight coming through the “tunnel.” He particularly loved working the 3-11pm shift, and he chose to remain on that cycle permanently when he was given the opportunity. Derek was married to Margo Jordan (nee Padmore) for almost 40 years and moved to Marietta, GA in 2005 after he retired. In GA, he and Margo lived with Margo’s niece Kathyann Guishard and her husband Dave, and they were surrogate parents for their children Khyla and Brenton. Derek was preceded in death by both his parents and leaves to mourn his wife Margo; his son Haldayne; siblings Lisle Trotman (Lupino), Jackie Davis, Cecil Trotman, (Sharon) Sandra Joseph (Victor), David Gall (Nayar), Brenda Gall, and stepson Jeffrey Padmore (Sandra); sisters-in-law Sherole Padmore, Dorothy Eastmond and Margaret Best. He also leaves behind several nieces and nephews.