Joyce Patricia Ferrar

FERRAR, Joyce Patricia, Child Advocate, age 68, of Dayton, passed away on Thursday, October 30, 2008, at her residence. Joyce graduated from Shaw High School in 1958, and retired from Dayton's Family Services Association in 2006. In the intervening years Joyce traveled widely on the most desolate and deserted roads, sustaining the powerless and the penniless with her love and generosity. From the poverty of Egypt and El Salvador, through the villages of Vietnam and the jungles of Guatemala, amidst the economic cruelty of our own harshest inner cities, throughout the storms of strife and war, Joyce sought to support and protect those in need. Her heart, like her personality, was huge, and she was loved for it by her family and her many friends. Joyce led a particularly proactive and varied life: World traveler; telephone operator; secretary; English teacher; truant officer; realtor; political candidate; and social worker. But her proudest and most meaningful contributions came from her advocacy for families and children, involvement in the civil rights and anti-war movements, and her pioneering work for the adoption of "hard-to-place" children. Joyce and her husband Bob adopted 3 sons and founded the Adoption Listing Service of Ohio in the 1970s. Long before email and websites, ALSO was the first agency information exchange focused on "children who wait," those children who were older, handicapped, biracial, or members of sibling groups. Through her work with Spaulding for Children and ALSO, Joyce and her husband Bob were responsible for placing many children with otherwise uncertain futures, in permanent, loving homes. During the Carter Administration, Joyce was named Chairperson for National Adoption Week. The Council on Adoptable Children, named Joyce the 1978 Humanitarian of the Year for her "efforts on behalf of children who wait." The Dayton Daily News proclaimed Joyce one of the Top Ten Women of Dayton in 1985. Joyce and Bob worked closely on social issues with Ohio Governor Richard Celeste, and in 1987 he appointed Joyce to the Ohio State Social Services Advisory Committee. In 1996 Joyce ran for Representative from Ohio's 42nd district. Although she was defeated, her opponent, Representative Robert Corbin, later sponsored the Ohio House of Representatives' official recognition of Joyce, concluding, "We commend you for outstanding humanitarianism and salute you as one of Ohio's finest citizens." In 1998 she was recognized as the Employee of the Year by the Dayton Family Services Association. Joyce managed the successful Family Advocacy program, which helped reclaim some of Dayton toughest neighborhoods and for which she received the national Margaret Eden Rich Memorial Award from Family Service America. In 2007, Joyce received the Marie Kindrick Fair Housing Award from the Dayton Board of Realtors. Joyce served as a member of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Board for Montgomery County (ADAMHS), and was active for many years in Women in Leadership. Joyce was also a Board Member of the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, and was recognized by them in 2006 for her volunteer efforts in the community. Joyce lived an exemplary life of love. If the secular world canonized its kindest souls, Joyce would certainly be named protective saint for children in need. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Michael L. Sabrack and Theresa R. Sabrack (Patoker), husband, Robert L. Ferrar, son, Jason Ferrar, and beloved pet, Romeo. She is survived by her sons, Brian Ferrar, Paul Ferrar and Corey Ferrar; daughter-in-law, Lori Moorefield; grandchildren, Ian Ferrar, CJ Ferrar, Abigail Ferrar, and Kai Ferrar; sister, Carol and brother-in-law Gordon Keller; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Sam and Pat Ferrar; nieces and nephews Jill Prado, Jennifer Birkes, Tina Ferrar, David Ferrar; their children, Caroline, Christopher, Adeline, and Cullen, and her good friend Bob Wilson. Family will receive friends on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Rd., Kettering from 4-8:00 PM. A Memorial Mass will be held on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 308 Phillips St., Yellow Springs at 11:00 AM with Father Tony Geraci officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave., Dayton, OH 45420, Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, 21 E. Babbitt St., Dayton, OH 45405 or The Foodbank, Inc., of the Miami Valley, 427 Washington St., Dayton, OH 45402.Condolences and other remembrances may be sent to the family via the internet on www.routsong.com

Funeral Home:
Kettering Routsong Funeral Home
2100 E. Stroop Rd.
Kettering, OH
US 45429