Tustin Woman of the Year Carol E. Jordan 1979

Carol Emily Hough was born to Frederic and Emily (White) Hough on June 6, 1928, in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in Pasadena and attended South Pasadena-San Marino High School, graduating with the Class of 1946. She first became interested in history in high school while researching the memoirs of her grandfather, Alonzo Davis, as he described his experiences in the U.S. Army, mining and practicing law and later being elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

She graduated from Occidental College and married William C. Jordan on December 17, 1951. Her love of history and Tustin heightened after they moved here in 1955, when her husband opened his law practice in Santa Ana. Carol had a brief teaching career until retiring to raise their three children.

Carol’s interest in writing history started in 1972 when she was asked by Tustin Unified School District Superintendent to write about the demise of 101-year-old Tustin Elementary School District since it was changing into TUSD. She researched it to write her first piece, a play entitled “Ghosts of Tustin’s Past”.

In 1975, along with Vivian Owen and Mary Etzold, she founded the Tustin Area Museum as part of Tustin’s Bicentennial celebration. She served as the Museum Historian until 2006, was a consultant for the City of Tustin’s Historic Resources Survey, served for 25 years on the County of Orange Historical Commission and was Tustin’s 1979 Woman of the Year. She was the author of many books about Tustin, including Tustin is my Hometown, Tustin: City of Trees, Tustin Heritage Walk, and Tustin: An Illustrated History.

Carol passed away on November 22, 2023.
A memorial service is being planned for January 2024.