Donald Ferrell is an American politician and journalist who served as a Republican member of the
Oklahoma Senate
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Adjutant General of Oklahoma
The Adjutant General of Oklahoma is the highest-ranking military official in the state of Oklahoma, subordinate only to the Governor of Oklahoma. The highest officer of the Oklahoma National Guard, the Adjutant General is the principal advisor to t ...
from 1987 to 1991.
Early life and education
Ferrell is from
Chandler, Oklahoma
Chandler ()Gordon Whittaker, 2005, "A Concise Dictionary of the Sauk Language", The Sac & Fox National Public Library Stroud, Oklahoma/ref> is a city in, and the county seat of, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. a ...
. He received his
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
in Journalism from
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
.
Career
Ferrell was president of the Ferrell Company, a real estate company. From 1953 to 1962 he worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oklahoma and from 1962 to 1988 he was editor and publisher of the Lincoln County News. He was inducted into the Oklahoma newspaper Hall of Fame.
Political career
In public service, he in the
Oklahoma Senate
The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution. He was the first Air National Guard officer to be Adjunct General of Oklahoma. He was appointed to the
Oklahoma City National Memorial
The Oklahoma City National Memorial is a memorial site in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, that honors the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were affected by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. It is situated on the form ...
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
in 1946 and received a commission through
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...
at
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
; he served in the
Oklahoma Air National Guard
The Oklahoma Air National Guard (OK ANG) is the aerial militia of the Oklahoma, State of Oklahoma, United States, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Oklahoma Army National Guard an element o ...
and the
U.S. Air Force Reserve
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...
Ferrell married his wife Sally and they had three children.
His daughter, Susan Farrell, was an attorney for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and was killed in the
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...