Washington Post Reporter, Editor Robert P. Jordan

Robert P. Jordan, 84, a former Washington Post reporter and National Geographic writer, died of congestive heart failure March 15 at a nursing home in Hilton Head, S.C., where he had lived since 1992.

Mr. Jordan worked at The Post from 1946 to 1962, rising from copy boy to real estate editor to assistant Sunday editor. He wrote the weekly column "Magazine Rack" for five years and occasionally wrote the "On the Town" column and book reviews.

His 1954 story on the renovation of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello was so definitive that years later, when asked about the project, the architect would hand out copies of Mr. Jordan's article, said a former colleague, Larry Laurent.

"He was really one of the finest writers on the paper," Laurent said. Mr. Jordan once told Laurent, "I'm going to get drunk on company time today," when he was sent out on a story purportedly to test a device that analyzed how alcohol deteriorated a person's driving ability. Unfortunately for those campaigning against drunken driving, with every drink the reporter took, his driving skills improved.

"He tried beer, then a martini, then straight whiskey. He scored better the more he drank," Laurent said. Although Mr. Jordan could handle the steering wheel, a typewriter was beyond him; a colleague wrote the story.

Born in Omaha and raised in Lincoln, Neb., Mr. Jordan attended Marquette University in Milwaukee before joining the Army during World War II. He was in the Signal Corps, and after graduating from Officer Candidate School, he became a lieutenant attached to the Army Air Forces, serving in the China-Burma-India theater.

After the war, he joined The Post as a copy boy while attending George Washington University. After graduation, he became a reporter and embarked on a typical newspaper career, covering crime, festivals and zoning hearings. He was promoted to real estate editor in 1950 during the postwar building boom, when it was becoming difficult to find homes in the Virginia suburbs in the mid-price range of $16,000 to $20,000.

He was called back to military service in 1952, then returned to The Post. In 1955, he began writing the magazine column and a nightlife column.

Mr. Jordan switched to National Geographic in 1962 and made multiple trips to the Soviet Union for the magazine, including one to Siberia in 1976. He learned Russian while working on the stories, although he said his favorite countries were Yugoslavia and New Zealand.

He won honors for articles about Oklahoma and Nebraska. He wrote a book, "The Civil War" (1969), was named a senior editor in 1976 and retired in 1986 as a senior assistant editor for special projects.

Mr. Jordan was a member of the Congressional Country Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. He lived in Alexandria, Bethesda and Potomac before moving to Hilton Head.

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Jean Jordan of Hilton Head; three children, Robert Paul Jordan Jr. of Warrenton, Meredith Jordan of Hilton Head and Julia Jordan of Northfield, Minn.; and three grandchildren.