Roper Funeral Home and Crematory 206 Holly St Jasper, GA 30143 (706) 253-7500 (706) 253-0040 www.roperfuneralhome.com Charlie was a true Southern gentleman and renaissance man. He was a charismatic individual who made friends wherever he went. A stranger meeting Charlie for the first time quickly thought of him as a lifelong friend. That was Charlie's way. They broke the mold with Charlie and he will be sorely missed. Charlie was born in Macon, Mississippi, in 1932, to Charles Scales Ferris and Nell Holt Ferris. He recalled an idyllic childhood there, despite having been born in the heart of the Great Depression. He attended Macon High School where he was quarterback on the football team, played baseball and ran track. He attended Mississippi College for one year intending to be a preacher. He then transferred to Mississippi State University, studied electrical engineering, and joined the Air Force ROTC. While attending MSU Charlie would come home to Macon every Saturday to help out his mother Nell by working at the Ferris Cash store. At first, he hitchhiked back and forth from college to Macon, but after a while he bought himself an "Indian" motorcycle (for $150). Nell excused him a few times in his senior year so he could attend home football games, including against Auburn, Alabama, and Ole Miss. After graduating with honors from MSU, Charlie served in the U.S. Air Force, achieving the rank of Captain. He spent two years at Hamilton Field in Seattle where he met his first wife, Marianne Desmul, whom he married in 1956. With Marianne he had three sons, Chuck, Mark, and Scott. The boys grew up in Summit, New Jersey, while Charlie was working at AT&T corporate headquarters in New York City, at 195 Broadway. Charlie had an impressive career in telecommunications, from 1956 through 1987. His career began at Pacific Bell in California. While there, he got picked to participate in the prestigious Operating Engineers Training Program at Bell Labs in New Jersey, from 1958-1960. He returned to Pacific Bell, and continued moving up the ladder. Promotions took him from there to AT&T in New York, Southern Bell in Miami and Bell South in Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta. He was the youngest vice president at Southern Bell when he was promoted to that position at age 42, in 1975. He married his second wife, Joan Stack Bennett, in 1977. He retired on his birthday, July 14, 1987, at age 55. Charlie and Joan moved to Big Canoe in the early 1990s and enjoyed their retirement in the beautiful Appalachian woods. Charlie became an avid golfer and even sunk a couple holes-in-one, including a par four at Cherokee's Hole Four. Charlie was active in the Chapel and as a past Vice President for BellSouth was instrumental in eliminating long distance rates from Big Canoe to Atlanta. Charlie told his kids, "Your goal should be to make this world just a little bit better because you were here", "give more than you have to", and from Luke 12:48 "for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required". Charlie is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Chuck and Dianne Ferris III; son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Diane Ferris; daughter-in-law, Patty Ferris; sister, Ethel Anne; brother-in-law, Jerry; nieces, Sherry and Susie; nephew, Stefan; step-children, John, Anne and Ellen; grandchildren Chuckie, Scott, Lauren, Brent, and Christyne and her husband Edmund; great-granddaughter, Harper; and friend and caretaker, Jeanne. Charlie was preceded in death by his son, Mark, and wife, Joan. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 26, at 11 a.m. at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Jasper, 1036 North Main Street. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the church at .