{"id":90964,"date":"2022-05-18T23:37:09","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T04:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/?p=90964"},"modified":"2022-05-24T09:26:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T14:26:00","slug":"delta-states-oldest-graduate-jutta-ferretti-leaves-generous-estate-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/2022\/05\/delta-states-oldest-graduate-jutta-ferretti-leaves-generous-estate-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta State\u2019s oldest graduate, Jutta Ferretti, leaves generous estate gift"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]CLEVELAND, Miss.\u2014<\/strong>As one of Delta State University\u2019s oldest graduating students, the late Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti of Shelby, Miss. attributed the education she gained at Delta State with providing her a new lease on life. Now, she\u2019s ensuring others have that same experience through a generous estate gift to the Delta State Foundation.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 11, 2010, at the age of 86, Ferretti graduated magna cum laude\u2014gaining distinction as one of the oldest graduates in the history of Delta State. Ferretti passed away Dec. 25, 2021, at Indywood Estate in Cleveland. She was 97.<\/p>\n

According to her nephew, John Letchworth, and his wife, Jane, of Shelby, who served as her caregivers, Ferretti wanted to ensure others received the opportunity to earn an education at Delta State.<\/p>\n

In fact, even before her recent estate gift, Ferretti had six active scholarships benefitting Delta State students in Nursing, Interdisciplinary Studies, Pre-Med, Liberal Studies and the Delta Music Institute, totaling more than $162,000.<\/p>\n

\"\"

David Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

One of her recent scholarship recipients, David Jones, who received the 2021-22 Ferretti Fellowship in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, said that while he appreciates the financial support, Ferretti\u2019s life serves as an even greater inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am truly honored to be chosen for the Ferretti Fellowship,\u201d said Jones, \u201cMrs. Jutta’s accomplishments at such a seasoned age are very impressive. It is my hope that I may impact the lives of my current and future students and instill in them the hunger for learning exhibited by Mrs. Jutta Ferretti.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Charles Westmoreland, associate professor of history and coordinator of the MALS programs, echoed those sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thankful for the generosity of the Ferretti family, especially Mrs. Jutta Ferretti,\u201d said Westmoreland. \u201cHer legacy to Delta State is a powerful and enduring one. We should all emulate her commitment to lifelong learning and kindness to others. Her passing saddens us, but we promise to continue her work.”<\/p>\n

Born June 11, 1924, in Magdeburg, Germany to William Theodore and Waldtraut Wahlstab Karnstedt, Ferretti emigrated to St. Louis at the age of five with her parents and younger sister, Gisela.<\/p>\n

A graduate of Ferguson Senior High School, she attended Rubicom Business College. On a blind date, she met a young soldier, John S. Ferretti of Shelby, who was stationed at Jefferson Barracks Military Post. They married Nov. 23, 1943, before his deployment to the Pacific Theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe loved school but because some of the men had been drafted, the business school asked their students if they\u2019d like to go to work,\u201d said Jane. \u201cSo, she left school and took a job, and she never finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the completion of John\u2019s military service, the couple moved to Shelby and founded John S. Ferretti Building Materials in 1959 where they worked side by side until retirement. Upon the death of her husband in 2005, Ferretti enrolled at Delta State, where she would earn a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cShe told us that her husband always made her promise that she would go back and get her degree, so she made up her mind that she wanted to attend Delta State,\u201d said Jane. \u201cShe had me come down and meet with Beverly Moon and others\u2026They got her enrolled and everybody at Delta State did everything that they could to ease her transition into college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jane said it was amazing to watch Ferretti adapt to technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019d only used a computer to e-mail, but she took those tests,\u201d she chuckled. \u201cThat shows how much she\u2019d gained from self-knowledge through the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

John and Jane remember Ferretti was a traveler who read extensively. In fact, Delta State honored Ferretti by dedicating the Jutta Karnstedt Ferretti Special Collections Room in the Roberts-LaForge Library in 2011.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cShe just was always striving to better herself and learn more. She was a very interesting person,\u201d said Jane.<\/p>\n

Ferretti\u2019s favorite part of college was meeting new people, especially international students.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelta State was her happy place. She would go to the cafeteria, and she would see a group of young people enjoying themselves but speaking another language\u2026they were international students and members of the swim team,\u201d recalled Jane. \u201cThey took her in\u2026They loved her, and so she met a whole new world of young people who enlivened her life. That was joy to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Even during her last days, Ferretti never stopped encouraging others to go back to school just as she had done.<\/p>\n

\u201cToward the end of her life at Indywood, she had to have around-the-clock care, and one of the sitters was a pretty savvy older lady,\u201d shared Jane. \u201cShe told me that Jutta encouraged her all the time to go back to school\u2026 \u2018You\u2019re not too old\u2026You can do it\u2019 she would say. She was always trying to get people to better themselves through education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferretti\u2019s estate gift will serve as encouragement for others for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe loved Delta State; she loved the opportunity for people to learn, and she wanted to do her part to ensure they had the means to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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