Charles Daniel Ferris

April 9, 1933 - February 16, 2024

Charles D. Ferris ("Charlie"), general counsel and staff director of the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee during the passage of the landmark 1960s Civil Rights and Voting Rights legislation and chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (1977-1981), passed peacefully at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland on February 16, 2024, after a brief illness.

Charles Daniel Ferris was born April 9, 1933, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, to Henry Joseph and Mildred MacDonald Ferris. His mother worked as a telegrapher for Western Union, and his father worked for Boston's Metropolitan Transit Authority where he was a staunch union advocate.

After graduating from Boston College in 1954 with a bachelor's degree in physics, and a short stint at Sperry Gyroscope Co. in New York, Charles entered Navy officer candidate school in 1955. From OCS, he was assigned to the USS Brinkley Bass, a destroyer in the west Pacific, where he served for the next two years rising to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) as chief engineer. During his time in the Pacific, he developed a lifelong fascination and appreciation for Asia, and often referred to his Navy years as the happiest of his life.

From 1958 to 1960, he was assistant professor of naval science at Harvard University where he taught marine engineering and celestial navigation to Naval R.O.T.C. students. In the evenings, he attended Boston College Law School on the G.I. Bill, receiving his J.D. in 1961.

Hired directly out of law school as a member of the Attorney General's Honors Program, he served as a trial attorney from 1961 to 1963 specializing in admiralty cases with the civil division of the United States Department of Justice.

In a storied government career, beginning in the watershed month of October 1963 and spanning the Civil Rights era, the Great Society programs, the Vietnam War, and Watergate, Charles served as chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield until 1977. He concurrently served as general counsel and staff director of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. His proudest professional achievements occurred during his years in the Senate under the tutelage of his lifelong mentor and friend, Mike Mansfield.

Charles was a key participant in crafting the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In support of Mansfield's bipartisan coalition with Republican colleagues, Charles helped guide negotiations to obtain a formidable two-thirds majority cloture vote, breaking the historic monthslong segregationist Southern Democrats filibuster - the longest multi-speaker filibuster in American history.

The Majority Leader's office took a significant leadership role in the enactment of President Lyndon Johnson's other Great Society legislation including the passage of Medicare, federal aid to education, stronger environmental safeguards, development of depressed regions - some deeply controversial at the time. Charles credits in large part Senator Mansfield's singular leadership style for the sweeping legislative advances that were passed at that time. "The tone of the Senate was created by Mansfield and was an essential ingredient in maintaining a positive climate. The institution ran as well as it did because of the trust that Mansfield engendered with everyone in that body."

After Mansfield's retirement, Charles became chief counsel to Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill, and was a key architect in the operational structure of the Speaker's office.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Charles Ferris Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, where he served until 1981. At a pivotal point of groundbreaking innovation in American telecommunications, the Ferris Commission shaped the market and consumer environment as Americans know it today - changing the landscape of radio, broadcast, and cable television through deregulation (thus democratizing the airwaves) and laying the groundwork for the explosion of cellular technology and the Internet.

In 1978, Charles delivered a memorable commencement address at his alma mater, Boston College, and received an Honorary Doctor of Law degree, which officially garnered him the elusive status of "Quadruple Eagle", with degrees from Boston College High School, Boston College, Boston College Law School, and an honorary degree. (He proudly wore his eagle pin on special occasions.) He also served on the Boston College Board of Trustees from 1986 to 2011.

In 1981, after decades of government service, Charles became a named partner at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, a Boston law firm, where he became chair of the firm's Washington, D.C. office. "Charlie created a wonderful working atmosphere and a solid base for the Washington branch to grow," according to managing partner at the time, Fran Meaney. In addition to his more lauded contributions, at Mintz, he is especially remembered for his true friendship, his strong and strategic leadership, and his open door policy. During that time, he also served on the Cablevision board and as the inaugural vice-chair of the board of directors for the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, advancing mutual interests in U.S. and Asia relations. He retired in 2013.

Much of Charlie's drive and dedication as a longtime public servant can be attributed to his belief that the federal government has the power and obligation to make the lives of all Americans better. He had great faith in our government and democracy, holding Watergate as an example of the strength of our political system's checks and balances. His friends enjoyed hearing his firsthand accounts of historic events, which he always portrayed as accomplished by those around him.

Forever a native Bostonian, with an unwavering allegiance to his Boston sports teams, he became an adopted son to the Washington, D.C. area where he raised his family. His final resting place will be on his cherished St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands where he made decades of memories with his family starting with their first visit in the 1960s.

Charles is survived by his daughters, Caroline Ferris and Sabrina Ferris, and his former wife Patricia Brennan Ferris. He is also survived by his former companion Wendy Shapiro, her children, and grandchildren. His brothers, Thomas F. Ferris of Minnesota and Henry J. Ferris, Jr. of Massachusetts predeceased him in 2019 and 2021. Charles will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation made in his honor to World Ocean School (worldoceanschool.org) or the Women's Coalition of St. Croix (wcstx.org). A private interment will be held on St. Croix.