Hours later, her best friend Anita Zunker, who lives in New Plymouth, received a phone call from Victim Support telling her the tragic news.
"At first I didn't believe it. I thought 'I don't know anyone in Rotorua' and said, 'you've got the wrong person.' But then it all fell together and it hit me - my best friend had died."
Mrs Jordan and her family were planning to visit Mrs Zunker while they were on holiday in New Zealand, but never got the chance.
The pair had been friends since they were 18 and went to university together in Australia.
When she heard the news Mrs Zunker travelled straight to Rotorua to help to support Mrs Jordan's husband and children.
"It was a massive shock for her husband Trent and their children Harry and Cara, made more difficult having occurred in a foreign country where support of family and friends was limited," she said.
"But in the ensuing days, while trying to understand what had happened to Mary and sort through the logistics of getting her home, we received exceptional support from the people of Rotorua. We have many people to thank."
She said the amount of support she and Mrs Jordan's family had from those in Rotorua was overwhelming.
She wanted to thank Jackie from Victim Support, who made the first phone calls to tell them the news and came to visit several times, along with Sergeant Simon Betchetti from the Rotorua police who "went out of his way, working beyond his end of shift, to ensure all official matters were processed expediently".
She said the Sudima Hotel provided extra accommodation and meals for the family, provided vouchers to local attractions, a front row table at their hangi and concert, and even packed lunches for the family for their trip back to Auckland to fly home.
She also thanked Rainbow Springs who unexpectedly whisked them into a private bird show for Harry and Cara, a behind-the-scenes viewing of the tuatara and other lizards and birds, plus three non-stop rides on the Big Splash. Skyline Rotorua also gave them the opportunity to see who could luge the fastest.
"The treats were a welcome distraction. It was an incredibly emotional few days in Rotorua for the Jordan family, but the unsolicited support and generosity exhibited by all the people during our stay will not be forgotten," Mrs Zunker said.
"The support has meant that Trent, Harry and Cara, hopefully, have some positive memories of Rotorua, rather than just memories of this horrendous and tragic event."
Australian newspaper The Courier Mail reported this week that in 2003, the couple lost a daughter, Ellen, who lived for just one day.
Soon after, Mrs Jordan had a seizure related to a pregnancy complication, eclampsia, and was in a coma for several days.
In March, 2012, she hit her head after falling off her bike, trying to avoid a pedestrian. Although she was wearing a helmet, she spent four days in a medically-induced coma. Mr Jordan said she had been seizure-free since the accident.
He described his wife at her farewell service as "my best friend, my love, my life".
"The cliche is that there's a hole in my heart," he was reported as saying. "It's not so simple. We were one. One word - 'trentandmary', lower case, no spaces. Take out a single letter and things get confused. Take away the last four letters and the meaning vanishes.
"We meshed, lived, laughed and loved in the way that now she's gone, I'm not sure who I am."
