Sunshine Coast Hinterland Times

Jill Jordan passed away in Bowen on January 8.

No person in living memory has made such an impact on the township of Maleny as Jill Jordan.

Ian Bryce, the former Deputy Mayor of Caloundra City Council said at Jill’s memorial service that Jill came to live in Maleny in the early 1970s when the Blackall Range had stopped making butter and the dairy industry started its slow decline.

But for many oldtimers and new comers alike the young Jill became a spark of optimism, a restless spirit of ideas and can-do projects that helped give Maleny new directions. Her stimulation of community projects for new business, co-operative ventures and employment schemes defined a new identity for Maleny that has spread nation-wide.

That identity is one of a community that cares about itself and its future. Jill articulated that message even to those who didn’t want to hear it. But Jill cared and it showed. She personified a community that talked, argued and debated together, and eventually got things done together – whether it was on Council on the land or in countless community forums.

The Hinterland Times takes this opportunity to record the sad passing of Jill Jordan. A lasting memorial is being planned and those interested in contributing ideas should book at the UpFront Club, Maple Street, Maleny for a buffet dinner 5.30-6.15 pm on Feb 11 followed by a facilitated discussion. Bookings essential, places are limited: Ph 5494 2592

JILL ASKED me to conduct her ceremonies of funeral and farewell so I went to Bowen in the week before she died to be with her and create them together. It is in a spirit of grave pleasure, privilege and gratitude to her life and for her many gifts that I serve her in this way. Jill and I did not have a lot of time.

Jill lived a life of service. Service was her passion, her focus, her purpose and for that she was deeply grateful. It is easy to surrender to hyperbole when describing

“Jill Jordan was a bridge builder …”

Jill for she was both ordinary and extra-ordinary. Jill was a Buddhist who embodied the principles of Buddhism in her daily life. There was no piety about her practice, she simply acted it fully, as she lived her life fully. Jill was looking for more than western psychology which she saw as only sniffing around the edges when she discovered Theravadan Buddhism as a young woman in the sixties.

Through taking refuge in the dharma, Jill developed a different understanding of the world. Things were not as she had previously seen them to be. Things, in fact, were transient and quite impersonal, whilst also being very, very personal. For Jill, railing against the difficulties of life, raking over the coals of old hurts, over and over, has no value. One has to go on and do something about it. And if one can do nothing, then to let go and let be.

Jill thoroughly understood the transience of the world, how everything is always changing, and about the interconnectedness of all things. She learned about the importance of the ability to detach oneself from life whilst being fully engaged.

Learning the dharma was the most beneficial thing in the world to her. It was not always pleasant or enjoyable, sometimes it was very hard. It was not always comfortable. To learn that the moment of death is not more nor less important than the moment of stretching out and taking an apple from the Tree of Knowledge in the prime of life.

Remember her watch-words: Trust the process and ‘Can I make a suggestion?’ The latter could mean, now stop fluffing around and get on with it, or that she did have a suggestion to make. Jill was a dancer and a singer and she loved being silly. She says she only learned to be silly when she was forty, before that she was focused on being responsible. She saw this as one of the great gifts of her life: to get to know that being silly goes very well indeed alongside taking up responsibility.

Jill was not owned by anybody, she belonged to the world.

Jill was a change agent. She was bold, quite happy to speak her mind and leap in where angels fear to tread. She could be quite measured when she did jump in. In the end she was not afraid nor ashamed of making mistakes – she learned from them.

Jill was a strategist. And she learned over her life that you always had to bring other people in. She got better and better at harnessing and chanelling other people’s energy.

Jill trusted people and process. A great and careful listener, she did not hesitate to name what was going on in a group: anger, hostility, resistance. She trusted that if she got it wrong the group would get it right.

Jill was a leader. She had no difficulty being the alpha leader and would take that up when required. She also knew, as good leaders do, to be a follower and supporter of others evolving leadership.

Jill was a teacher and mentor. She taught, mentored and then moved on. However, she was always available for support and critical reflection down the track.

Jill was a bridge builder between people and groups with diverse views. She was passionate about building bridges across seemingly unbridgeable chasms.

Jill never procrastinated. If there was something to be done she did it or passed it on. Right then. She understood you use up energy in putting things off and, what’s more, you lose the precious, fresh energy of the moment.

Jill knew she didn’t have to be everything; she was a brilliant networker. If it was her gig she had to be the expert, otherwise she looked for the expert in others and connected people up.

Jill was modest. She never boasted about what she had done and we will take a long time to get the measure of her life of service. Service has been her life and she has loved it.

Thich Nath Hanh has written very beautifully – birth and death are only doors through which we pass, sacred thresholds on our journey. Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek. So laugh with me, hold my hand, let us say good-bye, say good-bye, to meet again soon.

There’s no end to it really after today. We will continue

to do Jill proud for the rest of our lives.

Anna Herriot Memorial celebrant and Jill Jordon friend