This event is for *everyone* ~ not just swimmers!&nbsp; Please come, even if you do not plan on swimming. &nbsp;
A short memorial swim will start at 10am at the La Jolla Cove followed by a potluck lunch at the La Jolla Bridge Club (steps away from the La Jolla Cove.)&nbsp; Please join the Jordan family members and Betsy's friends at one of her favorite beaches. Bring a dish to share along with your memories of Betsy.&nbsp; &nbsp;Some seating is available but locals may want to bring a beach chair or blanket.
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Food Suggestions by Last Name:
Drinks: A - F&nbsp;
Main Dish: G - M&nbsp;
Salad: N - S&nbsp;
Dessert: T - Z&nbsp;
NOTE: For those who want to bring a warm soup, chili or a hot drink for swimmers braving the winter ocean water, the Bridge Club does have electric outlets and a small kitchenette with a microwave. Please bring (and take home) your own container/crock-pot, etc. and label with your name.&nbsp;

Betsy Jordan Memorial Swim Out & Potluck Lunch

A celebration of life for Betsy will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Arts San Diego (700 Prospect Street, La Jolla, CA) on Saturday, March 21st.&nbsp; Doors open at 9:30 am, speakers to start around 10:00 am with a reception to follow.&nbsp; Pastries, fruit, and coffee will be available before and after the celebration of life program. Please respond by clicking the "RSVP" button above so we can plan accordingly.&nbsp;
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Attire: Casual and festive to celebrate a life well-lived.
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Parking: Please give yourself extra time to park. Free parking is available nearby, but street parking closest to the venue has a two-hour limit.
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Accessibility: An elevator is available to access the lower level&nbsp;where the event is being held.
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After the Celebration of Life: Guests are welcome to tour the museum and grounds without charge. The museum offers both a cafe and a restaurant with lunch options.
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Lodging: There is plenty of lodging available throughout the area. Several options within a few blocks of the museum include the Inn By the Sea, the Scripps Inn or the Empress Hotel.
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Celebration of Life

Myla Houlihan

Elizabeth Jordan

James Jordan

John Jordan

Amy Webb

Swim starts from La Jolla Cove, food and friendship at Bridge Club.  Please bring a dish to pass. 

Prebys Learning Center at the Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego

Elizabeth “Betsy” Turner Jordan passed away peacefully in her sleep on October 17, 2025 at the age of 88 due to complications related to dementia. She was born to Benjamin Robertson Turner Jr. and Constance Stanton Turner on March 9, 1937 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Betsy said the three most important areas of focus in her life were: family, learning, and sports, in that order.

Graduating at the top of her class from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1955, Betsy earned a BA in Art History from Wellesley College in 1959. She earned advanced humanities degrees from Radcliffe College (MA, 1960) and the University of California, San Diego (PhD, 1987). She taught humanities at UCSD from 1985 to 2000, earning the Revelle College Outstanding Faculty Award in 1993 and 1994.

An enthusiastic linguaphile, she studied French, Latin, German, Spanish, and Italian over the course of her life. She loved to travel and speak the language of countries she visited. Betsy authored two books, one on Dante and one on dementia care-giving, and she loved nothing more than being surrounded by books. She was thrilled when her book-filled house was once mistaken for the Coronado Public Library.

A lifelong competitive and fitness swimmer, her happy place was being in the water. A self-described “scrawny little kid”, Betsy’s swimming career started at the Indianapolis Athletic Club (IAC) at the age of 9. Betsy was the first in her family to go west of the Mississippi, traveling with her teammates by train, to compete in a national swim meet in Portland, OR at the age of 15. The whole Turner family drove to Daytona Beach, FL for several national swim meets while Betsy was in high school. In 1952, Betsy’s IAC 150 meter medley relay team set an American record, which theoretically still holds today, since medley relays now incorporate four strokes instead of three.

After a swimming hiatus due to the lack of collegiate sports opportunities for women and raising four children, she returned to compete for San Diego Swim Masters in numerous masters pool and open water swimming events over the next fifty years. Swim meets took Betsy all over the country and around the world to Canada, England, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, and Italy. Her many open water swims included 35 consecutive La Jolla Rough Water Swims, the Maui Channel (relays and one solo crossing), Escape from Alcatraz, Trans Tahoe and the Catalina Channel relay. For her swimming achievements including setting more than 200 national and world age group records, Betsy was inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame in 2005 (https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-betsy-jordan/).

Known for her kind demeanor, generosity and friendly smile, Betsy possessed a whimsical and creative sense of humor. She loved animals, crossword puzzles, eating ice cream, playing the guitar, watching her dog, Bella, roll in the grass after a walk, playing word games, making lemonade and reading books with grandchildren.

Betsy is survived by her sister, Judith Turner Ray, of La Jolla, CA, four children: Amy Jordan Webb (Robert) of Boulder, CO, Myla Jordan Houlihan (Tom) of Nevada City, CA, James Robertson Jordan of La Jolla, CA and John Fletcher Jordan (Jessica) of Brooklyn, NY, five grandchildren: Emily, Erin, Mari, Meg, and Ben, two great grandchildren: Bugsley and Birdie, and the children and grandchildren of Peter Riddle. She also is survived by her partner and later life companion, Erling Johan Nyhammer, of La Jolla, CA. She was predeceased by her first husband, James Clinton Jordan and her second husband Peter Emmons Riddle.

To celebrate Betsy, take a swim in the ocean.  She always said ten strokes counts as a “swim.”  Alternatively, donations in Betsy’s memory can be made to the UCSD Masters Swimming program.  A celebration of life will be held in La Jolla on March 21, 2026.

A link to the obituary published in the San Diego Union Tribune can be found here: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/elizabeth-turner-jordan-la-jolla-ca/.

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