Mary Stuart Ferguson

November 20, 1922 – August 29, 2022

Mary Ferguson, passed away on August 29, 2022 at the age of 99 (12 weeks from her 100th birthday), from complications of Vascular Dementia. Mary was predeceased by her husband, the late Warren Harding Ferguson, deceased in 2002 and her only child, Warren Stuart Ferguson, deceased in 2012, at the age of 65.

Born Mary Stuart Sullivan in Worcester, Massachusetts, on November 20, 1922 to her parents John L. and Mary S. (Elwell) Sullivan. Mary’s mother, known as “Mae” to her friends, was the Charlton, MA town clerk for many years. Mary had four siblings, John L. (Jack) Sullivan Jr. (deceased), Elizabeth (Betty) Turcotte (deceased), Dennis Sullivan, (deceased) and is survived by her sister Joan McCormick and niece, June Ellis, of Miramar, FL along with her many other nephews and nieces located in MA, CA and FL.

Mary graduated from Charlton High School in 1941 and awarded the prestigious Valedictorian medal which is given to the student with the highest grade average and a symbol of academic success. She was also a member of the Charlton High debate team and was always proud of its winning record.

Following the end of WWII, Mary married Warren H. Ferguson in 1946. Warren had served in the Coast Guard in England, and after they were married they soon left Massachusetts to start a new life in Phoenix, AZ, where her only son, Warren, was born in April 1947.

They spent seven years in Arizona living in the cities of Phoenix, Glendale and Buckeye. In Buckeye, they lived in post WWII government housing, until her husband accepted a job in San Diego, CA in 1953, as parts manager for Campbell Chevrolet. Warren also worked for Jon Duringer Chevrolet in Coronado, CA and eventually retired from Marvin K. Brown Cadillac. They initially moved into a small apartment in San Diego and eventually purchased a new home in 1958, in the Granite Hills area of El Cajon. Mary lived in the same El Cajon home for 62 years, until she moved to Coronado in August 2020 to reside at the Coronado Retirement Village to be closer to her nephew, Scott Ferguson and his wife, Bea, who are residents of Coronado and who both cared for Mary for many years following the death of her only child, Warren.

Mary began working at Sears Roebuck & Co. when it opened on Normal St. in San Diego in 1953 where she worked in the accounting department in charge of payroll. To be nearer her home, Mary transferred to the new Sears store at the El Cajon Parkway Plaza Shopping Mall in 1969. She worked at Sears for a total of 30 years until her eventual retirement in 1983.

During her lifetime, Mary and her husband Warren traveled the world together and enjoyed cruising at sea. They traveled to Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean, Tahiti, and various countries in western Europe and South America. When home, Mary enjoyed motorhome camping with her husband and friends from the VFW, a small group of campers who were self-described as the “Lost Patrol”. They spent many camping adventures together with the “Lost Patrol” enjoying trips across the U.S. and to San Diego’s “back country” and a number of trips to Baja, Mexico.

Mary and her husband were long time members of the VFW Post 1512 in Lemon Grove and the Elks Lodge 1812 in El Cajon, and were also ardent baseball fans and Padres season ticket holders for many years. During “spring-training” they would travel every March to Yuma, AZ with friends and family to watch the Padres play their preseason games. Mary and Warren hosted many gatherings at their El Cajon residence, and they loved to have a party and held an annual Hawaiian Luau for many years.

Mary was raised in the Depression era and came of age shortly before WWII loomed. By age 99, one has experienced most of the wonders and trappings of our modern life and their complex and intricate evolutions.

As a witness to all, Mary Stuart Ferguson lived a rich life full of family, friends, travel and enjoyed life’s simple pleasures. Almost every innovation we now take for granted didn’t exist in some point of her life.

Mary had always been a vibrant, fun, kind, polite and soft spoken person and always “ready to go”. Her influence is felt daily by all who knew her and we will miss Mary and her many stories of her travels. We feel incredibly grateful to have had her be a part of our lives. Mary will be interred next to her husband Warren at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, CA.

Mary Stuart FERGUSON, age 99, of Coronado, California passed away on Monday, August 29, 2022. Mary was born November 20, 1922.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.elcajonmortuary.com for the FERGUSON family.