Col. Benjamin H. Ferer

Col. Benjamin H. Ferer, 69, of Meadville, died Tuesday, March 29, 1988 at Meadville Medical Center following a sudden illness.

He was born in Pocatello, ID, June 15, 1918, a son of Edmund Foltz and Helen Whittlesey Ferer.

He married Sarah Smith.  She survives.

Col. Ferer had retired from the US Air Force on August 1, 1962 as a full colonel after 21 years of service.  He was also an aerospace engineer.  He subsequently worked as project manager of the Goodard Space Flight Center, retiring from his work there in 1972.

He was a member of St. Paul's United Church of Christ and was a deacon at the church and a member of the church consistory.  He was also an adult class Sunday School teacher at the church.

Col. Ferer was a graduate of the University of Idaho.  He took his pilot training from November 8, 1941 to June 1942, and graduated as a polit from the Air Force Flight Training School.  He received his training as an aerospace engineer at the US Air Force Flight Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, from August 1947 to September 1948.

He attended the Combat Crew Training School at Luke Air Force Base, Azizona, graduating in December 1953.

He was a fighter pilot.  Col. Ferer was a veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict.

He was a member of the Crawford County Amateur Radio Society and the Crawford County Retired Officers Assn.  He was also an active worker in the Republican Party.

Survivors, in addition to his wife, include two daughters, Mrs. Steven (Laura) Mucci of Ashland, KY and Miss Kathryn Ferer at home; three sons, Dan G. Ferer of Harwood, MD, James D. Ferer of Samford, CN and Thomas E. Ferer of Springfield, VA; two brothers, Philip Ferer of Cumberland, MD and Charles Ferer of Aberdeen, WA; nieces and nephews; eight grandchildren and one graet-grandchild.  He was preceded in death by two brothers.

Services were held at Waid Funeral Home.