Earl Jones Ferguson

Earl Jones Ferguson died April 19, 2017. He was born January 14, 1930 in Lancaster, South Carolina, the second of three sons of Henry Stokes Ferguson and Wincie Eugenie Jones Ferguson. He attended school in Lancaster and then was accepted into Davidson College, from which he graduated in 1950 at the age of 20. After working only a few months for Springs Mills, he was drafted into the United States Army, and began basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. At its conclusion, the Army sent him to Fort Holabird in Baltimore, Maryland, where he attending German language classes. He was then assigned to the Army’s 66th Counter Intelligence Corp Detachment, in Stuttgart, Germany. He left the army with an enduring fondness for Germany and the many friends he had made there to marry the love of his life, Lorraine McWhorter, on June 20, 1954 in Waxhaw, North Carolina. Their sons, Alan and Barry, soon were born to Lorraine and Earl. In 1960, the family moved to Charlotte where Lorraine and Earl lived for the rest of their lives. He was employed as a cost accountant and internal auditor by Lance, Inc. until his retirement in 1995.

Earl loved music and poetry and reading. He could recite a number of his favorite poems from memory. He spent many hours playing his piano and his harmonicas. He was an avid gardener who loved nurturing his vegetables and watching them grow and produce. He and Lorraine learned to square dance and spent many hours with friends dancing and traveling together until she became too sick to participate. He was a faithful member of St. Giles Presbyterian and then Sharon Presbyterian Churches, where he taught and served on many committees and in leadership positions.

Above all, Earl was devoted to Lorraine and his sons. Everything was for them. Throughout his years with Lorraine, his sons never heard a cross word between them. They were a perfect match. Earl taught Alan and Barry to read before they entered school, and to ignore that which was of little value. He spent many hours with them over the years playing games, indoors and out, and discussing current events, particularly during their long, daily evening meals and Lorraine’s epic Sunday dinners after church.

His family life was a daily demonstration of love, gentleness, dignity, and duty. Earl treated everyone he met with respect and courtesy, and he expected the best of them all. He enjoyed people to his very last day and seemed to seek out those who most needed a friend. He understood and practiced forgiveness. Anyone who knew him was a better person for the experience. Alan and Barry owe debts impossible to repay for their father’s love and example of living as a civilized human being who learned to make his way in this old and beautiful world. They are each proud, privileged, and, beyond all else, humbled, to have been blessed with Earl Ferguson as their father.

Earl fought a valiant and inspiring battle against a relentless and cruel cancer that allowed him little quarter. But he never complained, even at the end. Left behind are many friends at the Willow Grove community and elsewhere. He is survived by his sons Barry M. Ferguson and his wife, Sandra; Alan E. Ferguson and his wife, Nancy; his grandson, Will Ferguson; his nephews, Russell, Michael, Douglas, Henry, and David Ferguson, and his niece Susan McWhorter Starnes, each of whom he loved as his own. He was predeceased by Lorraine and by his brothers, H.S. Ferguson, Jr. and Wendell Ferguson. If he were here today, he would particularly thank his daughter-in-law, Sandra, and his caregivers, Carol, Mary Ann, Lisa, and Jessica, whose faithful attentions, multiple kindnesses, and love were a great help and comfort to him. The family are grateful also to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greater Charlotte, who performed spectacularly in providing assistance and comfort during the last difficult days.

The funeral service will be held at Sharon Presbyterian Church, 5201 Sharon Road, Charlotte, NC 28210 on Saturday, April 22. 2017 at 11:00 A.M., where also the family will welcome friends immediately afterwards from 12:00 P.M. until 1:30 P.M. Burial will then follow at 3:00 P.M. at Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church Cemetery, 2814 Old Hickory Road, Lancaster County, South Carolina 29720. There Earl will join Lorraine and the long line of his family resting there. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greater Charlotte and to Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church. Condolences may be offered at

www.mcewenminthillchapel.com.