Charles Edward Ferrell

With deep sorrow, but with grateful hearts full of wonderful memories, we announce the passing of Charles Edward Ferrell, 82, on June 8th, 2021. His devotion to his family and his belief in kindness towards all, ultimately gave him peace.

Charles, or often known as Chuck, was born October 12th, 1938, in Marietta, Georgia to Nellie Lou Owens and James Venson Ferrell. He began and shared his passion for the outdoors and adventure with his older siblings Alice and James, both who have preceded him in death. His love for basketball and swimming kept Charles fit in his youth as he prepared for his next chapter in his life.

In the fall of 1957, Charles joined the United States Air Force and was stationed in Denver, Colorado where he met his first wife JoAnn Rosenbach. As a dedicated member of an aircrew working the flight lines, he served in Korean and was able to learn valuable traits alongside good friends while working on another passion of his, Airplanes. Charles served his country proudly until his honorable discharge in 1962. In 1959, Charles married JoAnn and together they had 3 children who he adored.

Charles’ journey continued by moving his family to Aurora, Colorado where he worked for Sears Roebuck & Co. as an appliance technician. He attended night school and eventually earned a B.S. degree in Business Management. Honeywell hired him on as an HVAC technician and transferred him to Casper, Wyoming where he worked his way to upper management. In 1974, he was asked to relocate to Anchorage, Alaska as a promoted Regional Manager and to head a team whose sole responsibility was to build infrastructure throughout the state to support the Alaska Pipeline project. He Loved Alaska.

Charles remarried in October of 1982 to his beloved Jeanne in Reno, Nevada. Their romance started in Powell, Wyoming, continued in Alaska and eventually ended up in sunny San Diego, where they lived happily together for the past 39 years.

Charles was a driven professional with a strong work ethic and an unsurpassed desire to increase his knowledge through education. However, Charles also spent a great deal of time on hobbies he loved. He was an avid wood worker and a rather good collector and restorer of classic cars. There have been many children who would frequent his and Jeanne’s Old Town San Diego Cold Stone ice cream store and receive one of his homemade wooden toys. In addition, there were many happy adults who enjoyed a fun ride in his beautifully restored 1964 VW Bug convertible or 1966 classic Ford Mustang.

After leaving Honeywell and moving to San Diego in 1982, Charles continued his education by earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in seismic planning. As a subcontracted engineer building inspector, he was proud to work on and be associated with many large hospital projects in the San Diego area to include: UCSD in Hillcrest, UCSD Thornton in La Jolla and Scripps Memorial in Encinitas. Before his retirement, he also spent time on Camp Pendleton as a contracted civilian engineer inspector where he received many accolades and awards for his dedicated efforts. Charles treasured the opportunity to come full circle and end his career with the fine people of the U.S. military.

Charles Edward Ferrell had a beautiful love affair with life, his family, his friends, and his soulmate Jeanne. All that knew him were fortunate as they no doubt experienced how quick he was to share great advice and offer genuinely a helping hand. He loved his surviving children and later in life told them often how proud he was of them. Charles will be missed greatly by his surviving wife Jeanne Ferrell, his children: Greg Ferrell, Jeff Ferrell, Jody Robershaw, Stepson Alan Adams and his wonderful grandchildren that he adored, Josh Ferrell, Sierra Robershaw, Savanna Myers.

Charles requested that his remains be cremated. His ashes will be laid to rest at The Miramar National Cemetery on July 15th 2021, at 10am with a visitation headstone to commemorate his life. Friends and Family are welcome to attend.

Charles E. Ferrell, your zest for life and love for a good time shall live on in the hearts of all who loved you.