FERGUSON, Kathryn Mae 'Kay' 1920 - 2016

FERGUSON, DEAL, HIGASHI, CHILDS

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 1/23/2016 at 18:54:18

"The Fairfield Ledger"
Friday, January 15, 2016
Page 8

Kay FERGUSON

Kay "Kathryn" FERGUSON, 95, of Fairfield, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016.

Per Mrs. FERGUSON's request, no funeral service is planned; however, a community memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Kathryn Mae DEAL, was born Nov. 23, 1920, in St. Joseph, Missouri, the daughter of Charles Oscar and Jesse Mae DEAL. She married William Eugene FERGUSON in 1943. He died in 1975.

Mrs. FERGUSON graduated from high school outside of St Joseph in 1938. She attended and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

While her husband was away on naval duty as a navigator in World War II, she attended the University of Chicago and received a master's degree in religious counseling in 1947.

Mrs. FERGUSON became a distributor of Shaklee products in 1970 and developed her business, K & E Ferguson and sons, along with her business partner and son, Bob. She remained active in business until retiring at age 86.

She moved to Fairfield from Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 1984. She lived in her own home until November.

Mrs. FERGUSON was a member of First United Methodist Church, and sang in the choir for nearly two decades.

She also was a member of the Fairfield Women's Club and its garden department. She hosted the Fairfield Peer Group in her home for several years. She also hosted a writing group in her home on Tuesday mornings. She sponsored or supported countless other projects.

Mrs. FERGUSON's greatest loves were family and being of service to her fellow man. She enjoyed preparing and hosting frequent large dinners in her home. She loved flower and vegetable gardening.

Survivors include: her five children: daughter, Elena HIGASHI and husband Michael of Natick, Massachusetts, and sons, Robert of Fairfield, David and wife Dolores of Oakton, Virginia, Scott and wife Eva of Bloomington, Illinois, Tim and adopted family member, Steve Miller of Fairfield; 12 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by: five younger siblings, Charles, Kermit, Keith, Robert DEAL and Virginia DEAL CHILDS.

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"The Fairfield Ledger"
Friday, February 26, 2016
Page 8

Letter of thanks

Thanks, Fairfield, for all you gave to Kay FERGUSON

To the editor:
I am grateful for the opportunity to pen this letter of appreciation to our Fairfield friends, neighbors and colleagues who helped shape our family's experience over the last thirty two years. This writing is on the occasion of the passing of my mother, Kay FERGUSON, and an opportunity to extend and open invitation to our friends and neighbors to celebrate her life with us on Sunday, February 28 at 2 p.m., followed by a reception at the First Methodist Church of Fairfield, 201 N. Court St.

Living in Fairfield meant a great deal to my mother. Fairfield offered a rich palette of opportunities for my mother's varied interests and natural desire to help build connections between people wherever she lived. My formative years were spent in Wellesley Massachusetts, where my mom brought her Midwest values with her in 1956. Over the years, she helped transform our New England neighborhood into something resembling a tight-knit Midwest farm community. My mother used her experiences growing up on a depression era dairy farm in Missouri, undergraduate work in home economics, and a Master's in religious education, to create her magic. Over the years neighborhood adults became, and were referred to by us kids as auntie and uncle. The after school party and Christmas party were part of the social infrastructure that drew the neighborhood together.

When my mother moved to Fairfield in 1984, the desire to participate in, and help build community moved right along with her. She became the iconic Shaklee Lady, dispensing her wisdom and help to hundreds locally and thousands nationally.

My mother took equal joy working in her large and bountiful garden, as participating in Garden Club activities. She loved her church community as a member of the choir, and one who helped reach out to those in need. She was a dedicated practitioner of TM, and enjoyed the rich activities on the MUM campus. For decades, she hosted the Peer Group at her home, facilitating a group of friends to move together through their sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties. My mother was a master at creating rhythyms of life that others could participate in and build meaning around. Eight years ago, as a small group of thinkers gathered at her home to conceive of what a resilient and green Fairfield would look like, she fueled the process with cherry pie and custard, sitting in the meetings adding mainly her silence and presence to the proceedings.

For me and my siblings, it was not only our mom's more public expressions of caring and participation that helped from our views and habits, but the quiet, unsung, and incredibly persistent effort at supporting individuals in their time of need. At an age where many would be looking to be care for themselves, she, with the help of my brothers, watched after and cared for a friend until her 104th year. It wasn't always convenient or easy, but she did it with enthusiasm and a deep sense of duty.

Thank you Fairfield for all you gave my mother, and our entire family.

- Bob FERGUSON, Fairfield

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*Copied with permission from The Fairfield Ledger, Inc. This material may NOT be copied and re-posted in any public venue such as Ancestry or Find A Grave without permission from The Fairfield Ledger ~ copyright restrictions apply.
*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

Jefferson Obituaries maintained by Joey Stark.
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