Guy Bates Ferry

Guy Bates Ferry, 75, passed away January 20, 2019. He was born in Detroit, the second child of Seneca and Audrey Ferry, and moved to Fort Wayne with his family in 1950. At a very young age while in Detroit, Guy developed measles, brain swelling followed, then fever and convulsions during one anxious night at home. Medicine was different then, and his condition was not treated as an extreme emergency. Years later, when he had obvious difficulty acquiring speech skills, a specialist diagnosed the brain damage done on that single night that would delineate Guy’s entire life. As a boy and young man, Guy was a familiar figure in his neighborhood, likeable but mercurial and troublesome, sometimes ridiculed and excluded. The roots of his behavior were a well-kept secret, Guy’s parents were of a generation that kept intellectual shortcomings within the family - it was “none of anybody’s business.” Acceptance of disability - like medicine - has changed. Guy attended Washington Elementary and Central High Schools, always a bit too advanced for special education but not capable of keeping up in traditional classes. Scholastic frustration segued to vocational frustration, culminating in a 4-year commitment to Richmond State Hospital for anger and behavioral issues. After his release, a lawyer was finally able to convince a court to recognize his limitations and secure appropriate benefits. Guy loved life, loved people, loved to laugh. He loved hockey, shooting hoops with his Dad and water skiing (he was much younger then). He loved TV westerns, morning coffee while enfolded in his recliner, and most especially he loved to eat. He was a terrible housekeeper and a careless dresser, but he was befriended by people miles ahead of him intellectually because he was funny and sociable and fun to be around when he was in a good mood. When he wasn’t, people learned to retreat and take cover, it would blow over soon enough. Sometime during the weekend of January 19, Guy was overtaken by a stew of illnesses and died in his beloved apartment. He is survived by a sister, Cari Taylor Carlson of Milwaukee, and a brother Bruce of Newburgh NY and Hersey MI. The family will never find appropriate words to thank the staffs of Park Center of Fort Wayne and New Horizons Home Health Services of New Haven for providing years of virtual parenting to Guy. His case managers at Park Center were his beacons for three decades. He could be difficult, but his advisors and caregivers knew his heart and endured his tantrums. Without their professionalism, guidance and caring he would have been swallowed by the maze of life long ago. A memorial service will be held in the spring in much better weather, an announcement will be made when plans are finalized. Preferred memorials are anonymous, random acts of kindness toward disabled persons, the aging, the lonely