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THE ONE LEFT OUT Daughter deemed 'deceased' In public, father had little to say about eldest child By Beth Daley, Globe Staff, 7/17/2002
But in Williams's will, filed yesterday, the wording indicates he considered his 54-year-old daughter dead for the purposes of the will - she ''shall be deemed to have predeceased me,'' it reads. The provision, which Ferrell's lawyer says she has known about ''for years,'' added yet another twist in a bitter, bizarre family feud that has made headlines around the world. Family and friends say Williams never said a harsh word about Ferrell over the years - and was even seen publicly with her after the 1996 will was written. ''He told me she was the apple of his eye; he never had a bad word for Bobby-Jo in front of me,'' said Arthur ''Buzz'' Hamon, a friend and former head of the Ted Williams Museum. Hamon said that perhaps Ferrell was given Williams's inheritance when he was alive. Ferrell has largely stayed in the shadows of her father's fame. Last evening, Ferrell's friend and lawyer John Heer said Williams and Ferrell agreed that she would not get any of the inheritance and ''that is part of the discussion she had with him when he reiterated his wish to be cremated. We are not here to challenge the will.'' The will says that Williams was ''purposely and deliberately'' eliminating his daughter from the will because ''I have provided for her during my lifetime. For purposes of the operation of this Will, it is my intent that Barbara Joyce Ferrell shall be deemed to have predeceased me leaving no issue surviving.'' Ferrell could not be reached for comment yesterday, but her daughter also said her mother was content with the will's provision. The family and their lawyers have repeatedly said they believe her half-brother, John Henry, manipulated Williams to turn against his eldest daughter. Williams had given John Henry, his son by a third wife, increasing control of his father's estate in recent years. Williams has one other daughter, Claudia, also by his third wife. John Henry said Williams wanted to be frozen in hopes of being revived in the future. Ferrell said her half-brother only wants to cash in on their father's DNA. The last time Ferrell made headlines, she was a premature baby born to Doris Soule Williams in 1948 while Williams was fishing in the Florida Keys. He didn't come home for at least a day, providing fodder for sports columnists. One book about Williams noted that his marriage to Soule lasted 11 years until 1955, but it was all but over by the time his daughter was born in 1948. When his wife filed for divorce, she accused Williams of ''mistreatment and abuse, both privately and publicly,'' according to published reports at the time. She won custody of Bobby-Jo. Williams was often gone during Ferrell's childhood. She popped up in a 1956 Boston Post article where Williams raved about her hitting skills. In his autobiography, Williams noted he wished he was closer to Ferrell to guide her in life. He wanted her to go to college and recalled how she used to love fishing. Other than those few instances, Ferrell is rarely mentioned in references to Williams. Family and friends say she lived in North Carolina and other states before moving next door to her father as he became sicker in recent years. She has been married to Mark Ferrell since 1976, and has two children. ''He loved her to death. He took care of her,'' said Francine Hebding, 35, Ferrell's oldest daughter, who lives in California. ''We've always been very private, but we loved our grandfather and he loved us. We just want to see the right thing done.'' Globe researcher Elizabeth Grillo helped prepare this report.
This story ran on page A17 of the Boston Globe on 7/17/2002.
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n the tumultuous weeks since Ted Williams's death, Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell has presented herself as the former Red Sox star's biggest defender, his eldest daughter willing to enter a public and embarrassing battle with two siblings to force them to abide by his wishes to be cremated.