Bethon Earl Ferguson

CRAWFORD, FERGUSON, SCOTT, SLINKER, TRAVIS, WHITE

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 6/4/2018 at 07:21:22

Bethon Earl Ferguson Family
Bethon Earl Ferguson was born October 15, 1912 in White City, Iowa. He was the son of Margaret Crawford White Ferguson Glasgow, Scotland and Henry Simon Ferguson, Rock Island, Illinois. Simon became a coal miner early in life; Margaret came to the United States at the age of 3.
Bethon attended school in many coal mining towns and camps, also working in some mines. He left school in Tracy, Iowa in his sophomore year when his father became ill and he went to Maytag Company in Newton, when they were building the big smoke stack; later he went to Plant 1 and 2, last being in sheet metal. He lived with his brother Harry and family.
World War II came along and he went to Lake City, Missouri to train for a machinist at U.S. Rubber Co. After training he went to work at U.S. Ordinance Plant for U.S. Rubber at Ankeny, Iowa, making anti-aircraft shells.
While at Ankeny he met his wife, Ruth Maxine Slinker (b. July 29, 1917) in East Peru, Iowa. Ruth’s father, Amos Vincent Slinker, farmer and blacksmith, died at an early age. Her mother, Margaret D. Scott Slinker Travis had to leave the farm to open a café to support her four children. Bethon and Ruth were married August 15, 1942 in East Peru.
Ruth graduated from East Peru High School and Iowa Methodist School of Nursing for her RN degree. Her last 12 years of nursing was at the schools in Monroe, Iowa.
Soon after their marriage Bethon was sent to another plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a foreman, spending a little over a year there, he was sent back to Des Moines then 2 months later to U.S. Navy Ordinance in Charlotte, N.C. Their first son, Spencer Earl was born there Oct. 20, 1944. In 1 ½ years Bethon asked to leave the company as he had contracted TNT poisoning.
They went to Oelwein, Iowa where he worked as a fireman on the Great Western Railroad, in an oil station, and a cement plant. All this time he wanted to go back to Maytag which eventually he did in 1950. Their second son William Martin was born in Oelwein, Oct. 22, 1949. The year 1951 brought them to Monroe, Iowa where both boys went through school and graduated from Monroe High School.
Spencer went to junior college in San Pablo, Calif. for a business degree. Later he became a journeyman electrician. He has worked for the Pacific Gas & Electric. He married a native Californian and classmate, Sherry Inez Owen on March 26, 1965. She works as a teacher’s aide at school. They have two children, Gregory Earl and Jennifer. Gregory Earl was born on leap year day 1968, and married Elanor Eskalari. They have Rebecca Marie and Timothy Earl. Greg drives a heavy duty service repair truck. Jennifer lives at home with her mother and works in a bank.
William Martin “Bill” went to Marshalltown Jr. College for a business degree in Iowa. He went to Viet Nam for 13 months during his time in the U.S. Army. He came home March 1971 and he and Linda Lee Slack of Nashua, Iowa (born June 19, 1941), a public health nurse in Marion County, Iowa were married June 26, 1971.
William and Linda moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa where he enrolled in University of Northern Iowa to get a BS degree in business. Their daughter Marta Lin was born May 16, 1973. He went to work for John Deere Co. in Waterloo in 1982 transferring to Deere Corp. office in East Moline, Illinois in Purchasing. Matthew was born April 19, 1976. Later Bill transferred to the Combine and Planter plant works.
Marta Lin attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska to major in English, French and Library Science. She married another student Kelly J. Boswell on May 19, 1992. Her brother Matthew started college at Iowa State University in the fall of 1994.
Bethon died December 21, 1981 of coronary artery disease after a lengthy illness. He is buried in the Monroe Silent City cemetery in Monroe, Iowa.