Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Lorraine -
I have periodically searched the net for news of Joe’s passing since you told me of his terminal condition some eighteen months ago. So it was with very mixed feelings of grief and relief that I read of his recent passing. I only wish I had known of it at the time so that I and some of his other OCS classmates might have been able to attend his requiem mass.
No one makes it through OCS on his own. I was very fortunate to have had Joe as a classmate. He had a steady hand and was a positive influence on his classmates. He had a way of bucking you up when your spirit was flagging. I remember how proud—and unsurprised—I was when I attended an OCS Reunion in 2004 to see that Joe was in the Artillery OCS Hall of Fame.
I have very fond memories of Joe and his New York sense of humor. “How did we ever win World War II without acetate?” he once asked me. I have repeated that quip hundreds of times since, always updating the technology, Post-its most recently. Perhaps, my fondest memory of him is his unsolicited nomination of me for class valedictorian, an honor I neither sought nor wanted “Pick Ferry. He’s glib.” And so it came to pass.
To the entire Campano family, I pray that your memories of this wonderful man, husband, father, brother, brother-in-law, uncle and friend will sustain you in your bereavement.
Joseph A. Ferry
Artillery OCS Class 8-69
