Richard Carter "Dick" O'Ferrall, Jr.

Richard Carter (Dick) O’Ferrall, Jr., went to be with his Lord on May 5, 2022.

He was born on September 1, 1935, to Dr. Richard Carter O’Ferrall and Bertha Hines O’Ferrall in Jackson, MS. He graduated from Central High School in 1953 and completed his Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi in 1957.  Dick was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity where he served as Rush Chairman and President. In 1993, he was selected by the Mississippi Alpha chapter as Alumnus of the Year. While in Oxford, he was in the Naval ROTC Unit and upon graduation was commissioned as an Ensign and began his two-year commitment of active duty.

At age 11, Dick boarded a train from Jackson, MS, and when he arrived in Valley Head, AL, he got his first glimpse of Lookout Mountain, and then rode in a cattle truck with a host of other boys up a dirt road to Lookout Mountain Camp.  That summer would change the course of his life.  He returned for three more summers as a camper, followed by four as a counselor.  In January of 1959, he purchased Alpine Lodge Camp for Girls along with his mentor, Coach Rufus Hyde, of Dallas, TX, and the gates of Alpine Camp for Boys opened that following June. After the 1962 camping season, Hyde retired, and Dick, affectionately known to thousands of campers as “Mr. O,” became the sole owner. In 1972, Dick married Alice Gandy from Jackson, MS, and together they dedicated their lives to helping young boys “grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man,” a vision drawn from Luke 2:52 that he returned to again and again.  Dick served as the Southeast Regional Director of Christian Camping International and was recognized in 2007 by the Association of Independent Camps as the recipient of the Honor Award for the Southern Region for his significant contribution to the betterment of independent camping for children. Dick was an active member of Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church.  And in 2021, he was inducted into the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame.  

He obediently answered the call to serve others through a life marked by prayer.  He loved people, and he loved connecting them to the Lord and to each other.  God worked through Dick’s amazing gifts to bind together countless families and generations, to point beyond one young man from Mississippi to the Lord he loved with all his heart.    

Dick is survived by his wife of over 49 years, Alice O’Ferrall; daughters, Carter O’Ferrall Breazeale (Glenn) of Lookout Mountain, TN, and Toy O’Ferrall Harmon (Doug) of New Orleans, LA; grandchildren, Caroline and Virginia Breazeale and Jack and Sam Harmon; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.  He was preceded in death by his parents; and his sisters, Alice O’Ferrall Reilly and Martha O’Ferrall Renegar.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Third Millennium Ministries, 316 Live Oaks Boulevard, Casselberry, FL 32707, or to Reformed University Fellowship, P. O. Box 890004, Charlotte, NC 28289-0004. 

There will be a private family burial in Mississippi.  A public memorial service will be held on August 6, 2022, at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church in Lookout Mountain, TN.  Visitation will be held on the afternoon of August 5 at the church.  There will be an ice cream reception to follow the service, and boys, there will be peanut butter in the ice cream.

Arrangements by Heritage Funeral Home, East Brainerd Chapel.