Former social worker was driven to mission of help

ROME TOWNSHIP — Yolanda Ferrell’s life is one of triumphing over obstacles, and then dedicating her career to helping others to do the same.

The former social worker was born in Fort Gay, West Virginia on Jan. 18, 1925.

“It was a little country town,” she recalled. “And I left there at 14 and moved to be with my aunt and uncle.”

Her motivation in doing so was to get an education.

As a Black child, she was not able to attend West Virginia’s public schools, and instead went to Fort Gay Colored School starting at the age of 7.

That school only went to the eighth grade, and she was not able to attend the segregated high school in her hometown, so she relocated to Huntington, where she attended Douglas High School, which served Black students in the city.

She said the school was a pleasant experience, and she graduated as salutatorian, becoming the first in her family to get an education beyond eighth grade.

“We had all the classes — English, math — all like I suppose they do now, and almost anything,” she said. “I liked it, because I wanted to go to high school and get my education.”

Upon graduation, in 1943, she said she wanted to attend St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Huntington.

“But I couldn’t get in, because of my race,” she said. “And it was the same with Marshall (College).”

Neither school would admit Black students for another decade, when West Virginia followed the national law and desegregated schools in 1954.

Instead, Ferrell opted for another state.

“So for my college education, I went to Wilberforce University, in Wilberforce, Ohio,” she said. “I went to college with two pairs of shoes. My aunt sewed, she made most of my dresses  — she made my graduation dress.”

It was at that historically Black school that Ferrell earned her bachelor’s degree in social work, graduating in 1947.

Following graduation, she returned to Huntington, where she first worked as a store clerk, before taking a job as a case worker/social worker in 1966.

“I worked 22 and a half years for the state of West Virginia,” she said of her time as a social worker. “I worked in Cabell County — all over Cabell County.”

Ferrell said the biggest difference in her work then, compared to today is how social workers met with those they served.

“Back then, we had to go to people’s homes,” she said. “It wasn’t like it is now. There are certain rules and regulations and, for every application we took, we had to make a visit.”

Her first tasks as a social worker were with homebound clients, helping them to apply for services.

She described her mission in that work.

“It was really about aiding people who needed help, and to help families to have some kind of income” she said, stating she would do things such as help to provide food or assist in an applicant needing to file for disability.

“A lot of times, I gave groceries,” she said “I wouldn’t just give money, if they needed something, because they might spend money something other than food.”

She also recalls visits to nursing homes she made regularly.

“It was helping people there to have a visitor,” she said. “They didn’t have anybody coming to see them. They enjoyed a visit.”

Ferrell said this is something social workers were expected to do once a year, but she did so far more often.

She said it was the human side of her job that she enjoyed the most.

“I enjoyed working with people, associating with people and being friendly,” she said. “I could say, in all my 22 years, I never had anyone to dislike me. And, to this day, if I see some people I had in my caseload, they tell me how nice I was, and how I helped them get the assistance in order to help raise their children.”

She said the other big difference with social work today is the amount of paper work she had to do.

“We still didn’t have computers,” she said of her retirement in 1988. “There was a lot of writing. One day, you might have six seven pages on one case. I enjoyed my work, but the caseloads got so heavy, it was hard to keep up the paperwork. Now, every worker has computer on their desk.”

Ferrell said that is one aspect of her life that has not changed since retirement, and, though she has Internet service through a tablet, she never purchased a computer and keeps track of all her affairs in writing.

“Still, to this day, I tell my boys, ‘I don’t need a computer — my mind’s still good.’” 

Ferrell had five sons (two of whom are twins) with her husband, William E. Ferrell, and has 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Her sons are regular visitors at the Wyngate at RiversEdge, a senior living community in Proctorville, where she has resided since October 2024.

One of those sons, Brad, stopped by as she was being interviewed by The Tribune.

He said people are amazed to learn that his mother, who is lively and energetic, turned 100 this year.

“It’s good genes, I guess,” he said of her excellent health.

For that milestone, Ferrell had a celebration at the Marie Redd Senior Life and Enrichment Center on Jan. 18

Ferrell said she enjoys her stay at the Wyngate, where she receives “excellent care.”

She said it was her third facility and “the hardest part is not being able to do I used to.”

Always independent, she notes that she drove until age 90.

“Then I sold my car,” she said.

But she is still quite active, and said she takes part in exercise sessions at the Wyngate, as well reads, knits, plays games and enjoys watching documentaries on TV.

Another activity she takes part in is crafts, and she notes how the construction paper turkeys they recently made reminded her of school projects.

Amber Carpenter, the Wyngate’s activities director says Ferrell is “super fast” at crafts.

“She’s always the first one finished,” she said.

She said Ferrell is always upbeat with everyone and “knows everything.”

“She’s so pleasant and positive,” Carpenter said. “She’s a ray of sunshine. She is living her best life and definitely rocking it. If I live to 100, I definitely want to be like that.”

When asked what advice she would give to younger generations, Ferrell stressed, “Try to get a good education, in order to get better jobs.”

“And don’t give up,” she said, noting she had to work through college, and in summers when she came home.

“Don’t expect somebody else to put a silver spoon in your mouth,” she said. “Don’t just depend on somebody else. Just because you might fail one time., don’t stop right there. Keep on. If you cant walk, crawl. And, if you cant crawl, don’t stop walking.” σ