Leanne Jordan Obituary

Durango resident Dr. Leanne Eberly Jordan died after a seven-year battle with breast cancer Saturday, March 13, 2010.

She was 49.

Dr. Jordan was born to Roger and Sandra Eberly on July 7, 1960, in Lansing, Mich. In 1978, she graduated from Kennett

High School in Conway, N.H. In the year after her graduation, Dr. Jordan enjoyed being an exchange student in Hamburg,

Germany.

She graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., with a bachelor's degree in German in 1983. While in college,

she rowed for the Dartmouth crew and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Dr. Jordan attended post-graduation classes at the University of Rhode Island and Harvard University. During this time,

she rowed crew for URI, Brown University and Boston Rowing clubs. She won gold medals in Canadian and U.S. National

Rowing regattas.

Dr. Jordan attended a dual program at Dartmouth/Brown Medical School and earned her doctor of medicine from Brown in

1989. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Medical Center in

Denver.

During her first week in Denver, she met Harald Jordan. The couple married two years later on Oct. 5, 1991, on Lake

Winnipesaukee, N.H.

After her residency, Dr. Jordan served as a major in the U.S. Air Force from 1994 to 1998. The Jordan family was

stationed in Colorado Springs, New Hampshire and Biloxi, Miss.

As avid outdoor enthusiasts, the family was drawn back to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and they chose Durango to

raise their children.

In 1998, Dr. Jordan joined Four Corners OB-GYN. She developed a thriving medical practice and touched the lives of many

families in her role as a doctor. In addition to leading her practice, she also served as chairman of the Department of

Surgery at Mercy Regional Medical Center. She later assumed the role of director of the Integrative Health Team -

Touch, Love and Compassion.

Dr. Jordan was the honorary spokeswoman for the Mercy Regional Medical Breast Care Center.

“She contributed so much as a patient advocate to those newly diagnosed with breast cancer, spending time with patients

as a mentor and friend," her family wrote. “Her dedication for her work and patients was surpassed only by the love she

had for her family. She cared deeply for her two beautiful children and her husband. Unfortunately, her strong desire

to see her daughter, Emily, off to college this year will remain unfulfilled."

Dr. Jordan enjoyed all things outdoors: mountain biking, road biking, Nordic skiing, alpine skiing and rowing. She

passed this love of the outdoors to her family and friends, and her family said she found peace and renewal sharing

time with them in the mountains.

On Feb. 28, she completed a half-century road bicycle ride with two college friends in San Diego. A few days later, she

flew to Germany with her family to visit her mother-in-law and go skiing in Switzerland.

“More than anything, Leanne lived her life to the fullest," her family wrote. “She was renowned in the community for

her generosity and warmth, a rare and perfect combination of strength, determination, drive, grace, class and

kindness."

Dr. Jordan is survived by her husband of 18 years, Harald Jordan, of Durango; daughter, Emily Elizabeth Jordan, of

Durango; son, Kelsey Alexander Jordan, of Durango; parents Roger and Sandra Eberly of Englewood, Fla.; sister, Lori

Damphousse, of Marshfield, Mass.; brother, Rex Eberly, of West Kingston, R.I.; and five nieces and nephews.

An outdoor memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1, 2010, in the courtyard in front of Center of

Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Trails 2000, 1025 East Fifth Ave., Durango, CO 81301-5321; or

the Mercy Regional Breast Care Center, c/o the Mercy Health Foundation, 1010 Three Springs Blvd., Durango, CO 81301.