Philip Lowell Jordan, Jr.

We are saddened to announce that Philip Lowell "Skip" Jordan, Jr., passed away on Monday, July 6, 2026, in Knoxville, TN. 

Skip, in some of his final communication to family, said, "Life moves on, nothing is forever, and we have to do the best we can." He was reflecting on an impending transition to an assisted living community, which unfortunately was a much shorter chapter than hoped.

Skip was born in Tulsa, OK to Philip and Eloise Jordan, Sr on January 31, 1947. He graduated from Edison High School and Oklahoma State University. He joined the Army in 1969 and was honorably discharged in 1971 with a National Defense Service Medal. He spent the next several years in Texas, and always considered himself a Texan at heart. A position as Creative Director with Davis Newman Payne Advertising brought him to Knoxville in 1989, where he spent the remainder of his life.

One of Skip's former coworkers penned this quote, which lived on his company's profile page for many years and beautifully summarizes his career:

"Skip is advertising. His dreams take the shape of storyboards. His wit becomes headlines. He unearths hidden concepts in fast food menus and the shapes of cumulonimbus clouds... He believes in creative with purpose, thinking and re-thinking brand positioning until nothing remains intact but perfection."

He won countless awards for his work and was named to the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame by the organization's Knoxville chapter.

He always had a deep love of the arts and was a gifted sketch artist and painter. For many years he thought he would end up in filmmaking and even received a college scholarship with Warner Brothers, Inc., in Burbank, CA (1 of 5 students nationally selected). He maintained until his death that he was the last to yell "Stella!" up the staircase prop from the film A Streetcar Named Desire before it was destroyed. Although he never made a career out of it, his deep love of cinema and storytelling remained constant.

Skip was a self-described "failed gourmet chef." He may have never made a career out of it, but the man knew how to cook. He also dove deeply into the world of scale model car building and amassed a huge library of reference material for the hobby, probably second to none.

A man of wit, humor, intelligence, and kindness. His daughter, Alex, always knew how much he loved her and wanted only the best for her. 

A Memorial Service for Skip will be held on Saturday, August 1, 2026, at Fellowship Church (8000 Middlebrook Pike) in the Student Center Building. Family will meet with friends at 2pm, with the service starting at 3pm.