Doris Jean Byram Ferrell was born March 21, 1940 in the Dennis community in Tishomingo County, Mississippi. She passed away Tuesday, February 11, 2025 in Westmoreland, TN. She was married for nearly sixty-eight years to Doyle “Bud” Ferrell and they had three children, Anita Ruth Ferrell Stevens, Robert Doyle Ferrell and Elizabeth Leigh Ferrell.
Jean attended Tishomingo schools and performed well enough at her studies to graduate from Tishomingo High School a year early. She enjoyed playing basketball, singing and listening to music of all kinds and was an avid reader. She grew up in the country and shouldered adult responsibilities at a young age, including picking cotton, running a household, cooking balanced meals, shooting well enough to knock the head off matchsticks, reading weather patterns as well as any meteorologist and training dogs. But she loved to cook. Cooking was her “love language,” and she especially loved preparing food for large family gatherings. Family favorites included her delicious fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, sourdough bread, caramel cake and four-layer chocolate cake.
The Byram household was known for its fun-loving atmosphere and was a popular gathering place for music nights, rook tournaments and general frivolity. Because of this, no one can pinpoint when Jean met Doyle “Bud” Ferrell, the love of her life, because she did not recall a time when their families didn’t know each other. They married on June 13, 1956.
Bud and Jean created a home that centered around education. The family often read A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books together and Jean enrolled all three kids in the Book of the Month Club when they entered school. They also traveled to places that highlighted United States history. Together Bud and Jean took Anita, Bob and Liz on camping vacations as far away as North Dakota and as close as Tishomingo, picnicked at Shiloh National Park and up and down the Natchez Trace and visited state and national parks and museums.
Proverbs 17:22 says “A merry heart doeth good like medicine,” and Jean was known for her merry heart. She loved knocking the tops off fire ant mounds just to see the ants scatter. She perfected “dog talk” with which she accurately interpreted the attitudes, thoughts and motives of every Ferrell family dog. She was known by everyone who knew her for any length of time for what became known as her “tee hee fits.” Something someone said or did would catch her by surprise and she would emit a high-pitched squeal before descending into uncontrollable giggles until she was breathless, then gasp and giggle some more.
Jean enjoyed a strong bond of friendship with extended family and greatly enjoyed family reunions, including the Byram reunions every Labor Day weekend and later, the Ferrell family reunions begun by the Ferrell first cousins in 2000.
Jean impacted lives far beyond those of her immediate family because of her compassion and her loving acceptance of everyone. She was a devoted, supportive and prayerful pastor’s wife with a keen understanding of what a congregation and individual members needed. She loved teaching Vacation Bible School and enjoyed directing children’s and youth choirs in several of the churches where Bud served as pastor. She was an enthusiastic Cub Scout den mother and a band parent and she supported her three children in their extracurricular activities. As a school secretary and later as a director of an after-school program, Jean loved all the students but held a special place in her heart for the most troublesome and troubled and they loved her in return.
Most of all, Jean loved her Savior and continued to read her Bible daily, drawing strength, comfort and wisdom from its word until the end of her earthly life. She had a special heart for missions work and particularly for Baptist Children’s Villages and for the Port Ministry of Global Maritime Ministries.
She is survived by her daughters, Anita (Steven) Stevens and Liz Ferrell; grandchildren, Brian and Lindsey Stevens, John (Lindsey) Ferrell and Katey (Tyler) Turner; great-grandchildren, Heath, Heidi Kate and Hadley Ruth Ferrell and Ryleigh Jean Ferrell; numerous beloved nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews and a multitude of friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, James Ransom Byram and Ethel Owens Byram; her husband, Doyle Ferrell; son, Bob Ferrell and a brother, Bobby Byram.
Visitation will be at Deaton Funeral Home in Belmont, Mississippi on Sunday, February 16, 5-9 p.m. and Monday, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life service will be at Deaton Funeral Home Chapel at 1 p.m. with Rev. Anthony Welch and Rev. Nicholas Phillips officiating. Burial will be in Lindsey Cemetery, Dennis, MS. Deaton Funeral Home, Belmont, MS will be in charge of arrangements.
Pallbearers include grandsons, John Ferrell and Brian Stevens, nephews, Mac McAnally and Andy Holt and cousins, Mike Byram and Phil Byram.
The family wishes to extend a special thanks to the loving staff at Westmoreland Care and Rehabilitation Center, so many of whom came to pay respects to Jean before her departure; to the staff at HOPE Family Health in Westmoreland; to the congregations of First Baptist Church, Belmont, Carter’s Branch Church, Tishomingo, First Presbyterian Church, Gallatin, Tennessee and to friends and neighbors in the Ashley Manor subdivision in Gallatin for their loving support over the past five years.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Baptist Children’s Village, to the Port Ministry of Global Maritime Ministries, or to a local hospice service.
