JOSE FERRER

FERRER--Jose M. III

On May 12 Jose M. Ferrer III died peacefully at home in Manhattan at age 78. He faced his many recent illnesses with resilience and bright spirit. Joe spent most of his distinguished career in journalism at Time Magazine, joining the company in 1961 and retiring in 2006. He was both a writer and, for much of his career, a senior editor at Time. He was highly valued by reporters and correspondents for his even temperament, keen editorial eye and discerning judgments. Upon Joe's retirement he wrote to his colleagues, "As a writer and editor at Time, I worked on my share of good stories, but what I remember more are the good arguments you could have with everyone about everything, those late-night usage debates; the tidy intelligence of researchers challenging sloppy facts; the to-and-fros with writers, art directors and correspondents; the jousting with editors as they tried to punch up, or sometimes punch down, a story." In 1968 his interest in law was rewarded by a fellowship at the Law School of Stanford University. Later he was a visiting lecturer in Journalism at Duke University. Between 1976 and 1980 he left Time to help found and edit Nuestro, a bilingual general interest magazine addressed to the Latino community, and later to be the managing editor of the well regarded but short-lived Politics Today. After returning to Time in 1980, Joe would become the managing editor of the magazine's international editions and then a member of Time Inc's corporate management. Upon retiring from Time, Joe taught at Columbia University as an adjunct assistant professor in the Journalism School and the School of International Affairs. In support of his wife's career he became the self-taught family cook for over forty years. He was also an opera buff, holding season tickets for the last decade. Throughout his life friends and family turned to Joe for his steady, unobtrusive and generous guidance. Once asked to pick one word to describe himself, he chose "decent," a choice that suggests his extraordinary innate modesty. All who knew him would certainly agree: they never knew a more decent man. A graduate of Princeton University, Joe was a lifelong New Yorker and spent treasured summers in Wellfleet, MA. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Penny Ferrer, son Seth Alexander Ferrer, son Jose M. Ferrer IV and daughter-in-law Chase Ferrer, granddaughters Audrey and Margot, and his four siblings Thomas Ferrer, Linda Ferrer, James Ferrer, and Molly Ferrer. There will be a service for Joe on Sunday May 20th and friends should please contact the family for information.