Charles Madison Ferrell

Charles Madison Ferrell, age 93, of Gaithersburg, MD, passed away on May 12, 2021, at Casey House in Derwood, MD. He was born in Clarksburg, WV, on April 30, 1928, son of the late Benjamin Franklin Ferrell and Mary Ethelyn Selby Ferrell. Charles was preceded in death by his wife, Donnie Sue Thompson Ferrell, and his son Jeffrey Madison Ferrell.

Surviving is his son Donald Franklin “Frank” Ferrell, daughter Kimberly Marilyn Ferrell, and granddaughter, Marilyn Hope Ferrell, all of Germantown, MD; his sister Mary Lynn Reardon of Catonsville, MD; and nephews John D. Reardon and spouse Veronica of Woodbine, MD and James C. Reardon and spouse Claudia of Madison, WI, as well as grand nephews and a grand niece.

Charles was a graduate of Washington Irving High School in Clarksburg, WV, Class of 1946, and received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Chemistry from Salem College in 1950. He commenced his career as a physicist and physical scientist with the U.S. Army Chemical Corps from 1951 to 1954. He joined the Atomic Energy Commission (now the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) in 1956 in Oak Ridge, TN where he met his wife, Donnie Sue. They were married in 1957 and soon moved to Gaithersburg, MD. Charles completed the AEC Fellowship Program in Radiological Physics (Health Physics) at Vanderbilt and Oak Ridge National Laboratories. He went on to complete additional post-graduate studies at MIT and West Virginia University. Among other notable achievements, he was responsible for the design of instrumentation to measure thermal radiation from nuclear tests, the study of gamma radiation shielding, the evaluation of radioactive sealed sources and devices for Atomic Energy Commission licenses, and the evaluation of shipping casks for reactor spent fuel.

Charles retired from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1995 with over 42 years of military and federal service. He was a member of Epworth United Methodist Church for over 60 years; and served as a dedicated volunteer for many of those years. Charles was a 32nd Degree Mason. As a Boy Scout Leader for over 50 years and other various scouting volunteer work, he received the Silver Beaver Award and was a two-time recipient of the James F. West Award for his service. He was named to the Maryland Senior Citizen Hall of Fame in 2001. Charles was the recipient of the 2004 Distinguished Citizen Award from the City of Gaithersburg, honoring him for his contributions to his community through his involvement in the Boy Scouts of America, the City's CHARACTER COUNTS! initiative and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees. He received the 2015 Distinguished Public Service Award from the Health Physics Society for service to the general public and outstanding contributions to the profession of health physics. Charles was an avid reader who loved his dogs and history, especially wartime history.

A private funeral ceremony will take place for family members at Parklawn Memorial Park, Rockville, MD. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held at a later date so that friends and former colleagues may attend.