On June 26, 1934, the world welcomed Charlie “Mutt” Ferrell, Jr. Although he earned his nickname Mutt from his ability to blend in anywhere, he was simply a country boy from Carthage, TN. He was the son of Charlie Ferrell, Sr. and Fannie Mae Apple. He had a brother, Ralph, and three sisters: Louis Ferrell-King, Mary Bessie Ferrell-Sadler, and Grace Ferrell-Hobbs.
Mutt was the quintessential servant leader. He joined the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18. He served faithfully from July 19, 1951 until February 16, 1972. He was a career aircraft inspector, and later in his career, a crew chief. In his career, he was a Crew Chief on the following platforms: F-80, F-33, F-94C, F-100, C-130H, C-133, F-4CD Model, F-104.
Mutt married his soul mate, Joyce Jean Burnley, on January 1, 1953. Together they had five children, three boys and two girls. They enjoyed wedded bliss for 50 years, until Mutt’s death in 2005.
In 1956, Mutt got the idea to make a sauce he could use for every meal. Mutt’s sauce was a multi-purpose specialty sauce, infusing sweet, tangy and a little bit of heat into each spoonful. When Mutt deployed with the U.S. Air Force in support of Vietnam and the Korean War, he packed up his wife, kids and of course the sauce, and headed over to Japan. While in Japan, Mutt would host parties and his sauce was always the highlight.
The laughter, food, and friendship was always successful at breaking down any cultural or language barriers. What started as one man’s quest to make a multi-purpose sauce quickly became a symbol of unity and brotherhood wherever he went.