Daniel Ferrell (June 8, 1947 - August 6, 2026)

Daniel Ferrell Obituary

Daniel Douglas Ferrell, 79, passed away on August 6, 2026, at the VA Hospital in Columbia, Missouri.

Dan was born June 8, 1947, in Lubbock, Texas, to Edwin Eugene Ferrell and Mae Pearl (Carraway) Ferrell. He was raised in Lubbock and Amarillo, graduating from Tascosa High School.

On April 30, 1965, Dan joined the United States Marine Corps, serving as an infantry Marine in the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, during the Vietnam War. He served two tours in Vietnam, was wounded in combat, and later returned to serve again. He left active service on July 22, 1969, having attained the rank of Staff Sergeant, but he never really stopped being a Marine.

His devotion to the Corps continued throughout his life. Dan remained active in the Marine Corps League and was elected Commandant of the Marine Corps League, Department of Missouri. It was then his family and friends began affectionately calling him “the Commandant”—a title that stuck because, quite simply, it fit him.

Following his military service, Dan began a long career with Levi Strauss & Co. in 1969, retiring in 1999.

On July 24, 1976, Dan married Mary Jo (Meek) Ferrell, beginning a marriage and an adventure that carried them across the country and spanned 50 years. From Virginia Beach to Oklahoma City, Dallas–Fort Worth, Chicago, and Long Beach, California, they raised their family and made a home wherever life took them. Eventually, Dan set his sights on Lake Ozark, Missouri, as the place he wanted to retire and call their forever home.

Together, Dan and Mary Jo had three children, Barbara Jo (Ferrell) Casada, Michael Eugene Ferrell, and Jack Daniel Ferrell.

Dan loved three things with a particular kind of devotion: the Marine Corps, puppy dogs, and his country. He was a man of unquestionable integrity and fierce loyalty who believed your word mattered, you stood by the people you loved, and some things in life were simply worth defending. He could be tough, stubborn, stoic, and unmistakably himself, while those closest to him also knew the soft spot beneath the hardened Marine exterior.

Dan lived a big life. He served his country, created a family, built a career, and spent a lifetime quietly fighting battles of his own with the same stubborn determination that characterized so much of his life. Through it all, he loved his family deeply and remained immensely proud to have earned the title United States Marine.

Dan is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary Jo (Meek) Ferrell; his children and their spouses, Barbara and Andrew Casada, Michael and Caitlin (Bercha) Ferrell, and Jack and Kasarah (Miller) Ferrell; his grandchildren, Lilah Ferrell, Landry Ferrell, Jack Ferrell, Tripp Casada, and Joplin Casada; and many nieces, nephews, extended family members, fellow Marines, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin Eugene and Mae Pearl Ferrell; his sister, Cynthia Kay (Ferrell) Duguid; his brother, Edwin H. Ferrell, and his granddaughter, Mary Celia Ferrell.

Dan lived a wonderful life and in return was deeply loved. And after a lifetime of standing his post, the Commandant is finally at rest—free from pain, his battles finished, and his duty complete.

Semper Fidelis, Marine.

Friends will be received on Monday, August 17, 2026 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Hedges-Scott-Millard Funeral Home, 514 Hwy 42, Osage Beach, Missouri. A Memorial Service will be held at 4:00 p.m. with full military honors immediately following.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Dan’s honor to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization whose mission reflects his lifelong devotion to service and country. Or, in the spirit of Dan, give your dog an extra scratch behind the ears, call your dad and tell him you love him, and never pass up the opportunity to let the people you love know it.

Arrangements are under the direction of Hedges-Scott-Millard Funeral Homes, 514 Highway 42, Osage Beach, MO 65065 (573) 348-3232.


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