Cynthia Ferrell Ashwood held out a framed photograph of her sister, Susan Ferrell, sitting with Cynthia’s children - Donald and Rachel - in front of a flowerbed. It was taken when they all got together on Easter.
She smiled as she talked about how Susan had brought her co-worker with her, and he had taken the photo, making sure everything was just right. It’s become a bit of a statement piece for the family.
It was taken days before both Susan and her co-worker were killed in the Murrah bombing on April 19, 1995. Their chairs sit next to each other on the memorial lawn in the eighth row, signifying they were on the eighth floor, where Susan was a lawyer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“After a certain period of time, at least for me, I don’t know if it feels like yesterday or years, but it never seems to be as long as it has been. But even after 30 years, I think we can both say that our memories are so vivid,” Cynthia said.
Cynthia and her husband Albert have been to every anniversary. They’ve also been involved with the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum since the very beginning. Cynthia recalled going to the first meeting just a few months after the bombing, after her father, Don Ferrell, asked her to represent the family. Albert worked the bombing as a recovery manager for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and later became the director.
“I was the first on the scene for our office, about ten minutes after it occurred, and stayed down there. Well, actually, I stayed down there through July,” he said. “And, of course, we knew that Susie was down there. We were looking for her, and just, a bad time. A lot of pain and suffering.”
Don was on the first board of trustees for the memorial, plus the task force before that. Albert is currently a trustee, and Cynthia is a new member of the conscience committee, which provides direction for the trustees.
Cynthia and her parents have done interviews for the Memorial as part of their interactive exhibits, and Cynthia and Albert have taken part in EYEwitness Tours. They’re also involved in outreach programs, such as the Journey of Hope. The program involves visiting high schools in all 77 counties to talk about the bombing and the message behind the memorial.
“That is an amazing program, and that was to highlight the 30th anniversary. But we became, like the rest of the staff at the memorial, really concerned about outreach to our children and students to really hear a personal story and see the museum so they can really try to better understand it,” Cynthia said.
Albert is also involved in Better Conversations, which takes subjects that people from different age groups and backgrounds are experiencing today, breaks them down, and looks into why people feel certain ways and how people can resolve their issues. He said that, especially in today’s climate, everyone, regardless of which side of the political spectrum they’re on, is mad about something.
“And really what we’re trying to get across is that we can talk about these things and we can disagree, but we don’t have to revert to violence,” he said.
However, the thing that brings the family joy every year is their involvement in the Memorial Marathon, which runs the weekend after the anniversary. They’ve been involved since the first in 2001. Albert said it’s tough going through April because it brings back feelings and things they don’t want to remember. And while it’s great to go to the ceremony, he called it one of those things that you dread until you get there, then you’re glad that you went.
“And then the next weekend, it’s always kind of wonderful because it’s kind of a release of everything. It’s just kind of joyous,” he said.
“It’s to celebrate life, and it’s emotional, it’s cheerful, but it’s joyful,” Cynthia added.
The family has kept Susie’s house. They go there for the weekend of the anniversary and the marathon and open it up to others.
Cynthia said they have a big pasta party the night before for family members or friends who are running. The marathon is the biggest fundraiser for the Memorial, which doesn’t receive public funding.
“It’s really very important to us and very special, and so that’s even more of a celebration because we can celebrate her in her home,” Cynthia said.