Ferguson, Scott Awtry 1954-2017

FERGUSON, ANTHONY, MILLER, RIETVELD

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 3/22/2017 at 22:12:17

Scott Awtry Ferguson
(December 7, 1954 - March 20, 2017)

Survivors include his wife Debra Ferguson of Denison, Iowa; three children: Maggie (Chad) Anthony of Huxley, Iowa, Anna (Ian) Miller of Guthrie Center, Iowa, and Joe (Nicole) Ferguson of Denison, Iowa; three grandchildren: Trevin and Ava Anthony and Alice Miller; brother, Stuart (Susan) Ferguson of Princeton, New Jersey; mother-in-law, Eleanor Rietveld of Pella, Iowa; his beloved dachshund, Maizie; nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends ~ Pfannebecker Funeral Home, Denison, Iowa
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He lived life to the fullest

Friends remember Ferguson’s welcoming qualities
by Gordon Wolf Mar 21, 2017

Scott Ferguson
Among the qualities that defined Scott Ferguson, friends pointed to this one: the financial advisor with Edward Jones Investments, community volunteer and family man enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest.

Ferguson’s death on Monday morning came as a shock to everyone. According to his posts on CaringBridge, a website designed to allow people to rally support for someone during a health journey, he had been discharged from a hospital on March 4 following a surgery to remove much of his pancreas. Friends said Ferguson's medical reports were good and he seemed to be doing well after his surgery.

But life can be fragile, pointed out Doug Soseman. He and his wife, Pam, are decades-long friends of Ferguson and his wife, Deb.

Just minutes before his death, he attended his regular 9 a.m. coffee group at Robin’s Nest up the block from his Edward Jones office on Broadway in Denison.

“He brought some Irish cake, had a piece for everyone and dished it out,” said JR Pauley, long-time friend and member of the coffee group.

Sharing was a quality that defined Ferguson.

“He tried to put everyone else’s interests ahead of his own,” said Don Luensmann, a fellow member of the Denison Rotary Club.

Luensmann became acquainted with Furguson in 2005 when Luensmann became the executive director of the Chamber & Development Council of Crawford County (CDC).

FERGUSON, from Page 1

But the closer friendship came through the Rotary Club and the Hospital Foundation of Crawford County; Ferguson was a board member for many years. Luensmann said no matter what was going on in Ferguson’s life, he was a pretty happy person.

“He was easy to work with,” said Luensmann. “He had the sort of personality and the desire to try to make whatever situation he happened to be in better. In most instances when I dealt with Scott, he made certain that other people’s needs were satisfied before his.”

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, Ferguson posted to his Facebook page a picture of himself in a plaid vest over a green shirt and Soseman in his green plaid kilt. Both are Scottish; Soseman’s first name comes from the Douglas clan.

“I’ve looked at that picture numerous times,” Soseman said Monday afternoon. “Scott and I would talk over the phone how fleeting life is and said he and Deb and Pam and I should take a vacation together. But God’s plans don’t always fit with ours.”

Ferguson and Soseman were part of a group of individuals who moved to Denison from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Dan Pfannebecker came in 1979, Kevin McKeown arrived at about the same time, Soseman moved to Denison in 1981, Ferguson a year later and Steve Brownmiller at about the same time.

Pfannebecker died in February, and Ferguson and Soseman were among the pallbearers.

“We all came to Denison at about the same time and assimilated to Denison because it was a friendly community. We stayed great friends all these years,” said Soseman. “That says something for Denison. Sometimes when you come to a town and make good friendships, that helps keep people in town.”

Soseman said Ferguson was a great “people person.”

“He sincerely loved and cared about people, and he wrote a lot of notes to people,” he said.

On Soseman’s desk is a letter that Ferguson wrote to him. He chose to mail what he had to say rather than to text or email.

“I talked to another good friend of Scott’s, and he said Scott had also taken the time to write him a letter,” he said.

Ferguson and his wife have three children, Maggie, Anna and Joe.

He is a past member of Crawford County Memorial Hospital Board, a past board member of Crawford County Community Foundation and a founder of the Citizens of the Crawford County Endowed Fund.

Pauley said Ferguson was generous with the organizations he belonged to.

Rick and Carol Crampton became friends of the Fergusons through their children. Two of their children were the same age and in the same grade in schools.

“He was very open and upbeat,” said Rick. “Very witty, very intelligent and always fun to be with – positive.”

Crampton added that Ferguson was competitive. On Saturday, the two played what turned out to be their last game of cribbage.

“He was behind by 17 points, but Scott was always a fearsome competitor, and he came back and beat me,” Crampton said. “That’s the way Scott lived. He never gave up. He put his best into every moment.”

“Scott never waited to enjoy life,” added Carol Crampton. “He saw the importance and the beauty of enjoying every day.

“He invested in his life and things his family could enjoy with him and things he could enjoy by being with his family,” she continued. “I respected him for that. He made enjoying the moment with friends and family such a big part of his life, not just on holidays. Every day was a good day to have fun.”

Friendly rivalries were a part of the friendship. Along with being a devout New York Yankees fan, Ferguson was dedicated to University of Iowa Hawkeye sports. Crampton is an Iowa State Cyclones fan.

“We were a house divided. Even though we were best friends, he was true to his Hawkeyes,” Crampton said.

Remembering the games they attended together, Crampton laughed about one incident. They were at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City; the Cyclones were ahead in the football game.

“Scott was so upset, he left me alone,” said Crampton. “The Cyclones were beating the Hawkeyes, and he couldn’t take it.”

“Scott was a really curious person, and I think that was a quality he used so beautifully, to learn about others and to help people from all walks of life,” Carol added. “He could engage in a conversation with anyone. He had a great, genuine way to make people feel important.”

“He was a loyal friend,” Crampton said.

Kurt Miller became friends with Ferguson when he moved to Denison about seven years ago, but they clicked like long-time friends.

“He made me feel welcome,” said Miller. “Scott had many old friends, and I’m basically a new friend, but he made me feel like an old friend.”

Miller, Ferguson and Steve Clausen, who is Joe Ferguson’s father-in-law, went to Ferguson’s home on West Lake Okoboji.

“Scott was about to go in for the operation and said we should do this twice a year,” said Miller. “Steve and I remarked that he needed to get away and reflect.”

Miller introduced Ferguson to the sport of ice fishing two years ago.

“He had been kind of an outdoorsman earlier in life,” said Miller. “I am a die-hard fisherman, but he was out there to share the time together. He had just as much fun on the ice with catching up with us.”

Another common bond linked Ferguson and Miller: Jimmy Buffet. Fans are called “Parrot Heads.”

“I was an old Jimmy Buffet fan, and he was a huge Jimmy Buffet fan,” said Miller. “I am good about remembering one or two lines from a song. He could tell you the whole song. He really enjoyed life and music.”

Crampton recalled that Ferguson not only enjoyed listening to music but playing it.

“He was musically talented. He was a great drummer and learned to play guitar later in life,” he said.

McKeown, who moved from Denison to New Mexico several years ago after retiring from his veterinary practice, performed in a band with Ferguson.

“He told me that he played in the almost famous “Astro-nuts” while in junior high school. One of the bands we played in was called the ‘Below Average White Band’ and another was ‘Half Fast,’” he added. “This gives you some idea of the respect we had for each other’s talent.”

Band members were in their early-to mid-30s when most of the performances took place.

“We had young families, were starting out and were all very dependent on each other for misguideance and general bad decisions,” said McKeown.

“We watched each other’s families give birth, develop, graduate, etc. This was the kind of relationship that TV sit-coms write about. The musical relationship between the ‘band’ members made it all that much closer,” he added.

Pauley said Ferguson was the type of person you loved and liked the first time you met him.

“It was his wit and charm, kind of a friendship at first sight,” he said and added that no one could tell stories like Ferguson could.

“It was how he told them,” said Pauley.

Judy Gierstorf became friends with Ferguson through Rotary and as a client of his business.

“His spirit was just full of fun,” she said.

One year Ferguson went to the annual Rotary auction dressed as a pirate, in keeping with the event’s theme that here. The year the auction had a tropical theme, he came ready for fun, she recalled.

“He was all about supporting the rotary program and making sure everyone around had a good time,” she said.

She added that he enjoyed music and music just flowed through his spirit.

“He was a fun person,” she said. “People really enjoyed being around him. He had that kind of magnetic personality.”

While it is a sad time for Ferguson’s family and friends, Miller is sure that Ferguson would want to turn that around and have people celebrate his life and all the good things he liked and enjoyed.

McKeown said he will remember the big grin on Ferguson’s face whenever they ran into each other.

“I’ll miss Scott,” he said. “The planet will be a much lonelier place without him on it.

“I know his life was cut short, but he lived twice as much as most of us do.”

Funeral arrangements will be made by Pfannebecker Funeral Home in Denison. ~ Tribute in the Crawford County Iowa Review, 21 Mar 2017.