I’ve been thinking about a good friend, Mary Ellen Rudisel Jordan. Yesterday was her Birthday She would have been 72.
She died in a car crash 10 years ago. It doesn’t seem like it can be that long ago. She often comes to mind since I continue to work with the reincarnation of her firm, SRKM Architecture. The R remains as a tribute to Mary Ellen.
Mary Ellen was always my go-to when I needed a quick sketch or an elegant, but simple, solution to a minor design problem. We completed more than a few projects together, many of those for Richard Ford, another departed friend. Mary Ellen was returning from a meeting with Richard when she was struck by an oncoming car, in the wrong lane, on a blind hill, in a no passing zone. I can’t drive that section of road without thinking of her. Rest in Peace, Mary Ellen.