HEROES’|Hundreds turn out to honor educator Ferris

More than 300 friends, family members and supporters of public education gathered Tuesday night for the presentation of the Winter-Reed Award in honor of Grey Flowers Ferris, a local and state leader who died June 13.

“We, the people of Vicksburg, of Warren County, of Mississippi, of the United States of America should be glad we knew a man such as Grey Ferris,” said Sherry Fisher at the dinner and fund-raiser for the Mississippi Association of Partners in Education, which works to support classroom teachers and education legislation. “I found him to be a generous, kind, gentle and loving spirit. Just knowing him made me want to fulfill God’s purpose for my life — to be a teacher, ” said Fisher, who taught in schools here for 32 years and served on Ferris’ campaign when he ran for the Senate.

“People come into our lives for a reason, a season, a lifetime,” said Fisher. “Grey was in my life for a lifetime.”

Also speaking were Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, who, with Ferris, drafted and guided to passage the Mississippi Adequate Education Act of 1997, and Dr. William Ferris of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, an author, folklorist and Grey Ferris’ brother. A video tracing Ferris’ life on the family’s Warren County farm and comments from people statewide prepared by Andy Royes and Leah Rupp Smith of the Mississippi Department of Education was also shown.

In 1984, when talk of consolidating the Vicksburg and Warren County schools began, Ferris became involved, seeing a pending City of Vicksburg annexation case as an opportunity to blend the then separate city and county school districts into a single, unified and stronger district. He was elected in 1986 to serve on the board of the new Vicksburg Warren School District and devoted much of his six-year term as board chairman to uniting the two school systems.

Ferris was elected to the Mississippi Senate in 1992 and went on to serve two terms. In his second term, he was chairman of the Senate Education Committee, where he was committed to reforming education in the low-funded, rural areas of the state.

“I’ve thought about why it is that we all feel so strongly about Grey, why we want to do so much for him,” Bryan said. “It’s not just because we miss him as an individual but also the things he stood for — courtesy, decency, education.”

His brother said Ferris never lost the simple life lessons of hard work, respect for the natural world and intellectual curiosity.

“Grey used to say, ‘When you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had help getting up there,’” Ferris said. “Most of us remember the teachers who helped us in our lives. Grey never forgot his. Grey was always surrounded by a family of teachers, past and present.”

At the event, former Gov. William Winter congratulated MAPE for selecting Ferris for the honor, noting the organization, had set a “high bar” for future honorees.

“It is just so fitting,” said Ferris’ wife, Jann. “This is not just a celebration of Grey and his accomplishments but of parents and teachers and administration.  It is so fitting that this award has the names of William F. Winter and Jack Reed on it. Grey told me they were his heroes and tonight they’re calling him a hero.”

Ferris began his public career when he was elected president of the student body at Tulane University. “It was the first campaign we ever worked on together,” said Jann Ferris, who added that she knew the night she met Ferris that she would one day marry him.

Along with Jann Ferris, the honoree’s son, Jason, and daughter, Lylen, accepted the award. “I remember Daddy coming in from working and immediately saying, ‘What do we have for homework today?’ and, after a test, ‘How did we do?’” said Dr. Lylen Ferris. “He didn’t say ‘you,’ he said ‘we.’ Dad’s love for education was unending and I think about him every time (my children) come home from school, excited about what they learned that day.”

Performing before and during the event were the VWSD String Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Gerald Rankin and the Warren Central Madrigal Singers under the direction of Nancy Robertson.

*

Contact Megan Holland at mholland@vicksburgpost.com.