Mr. Michael Richard Ferguson

Michael Richard Ferguson, 80, of Annandale passed away peacefully on Monday, June 17, 2024. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Ellen (Zollinger) Ferguson of Annandale, and his three children David (Sandra), Kristin (Wes Colvin), and Douglas (Sharon). His five beloved grandchildren are James and Joseph, Sam, Samara and Aurora. He is also survived by a sister, Elizabeth (Robert) Finney, four nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and a grand-nephew. He was preceded in death by his parents Richard E. Ferguson and Glenna (Fisher) Ferguson. Born July 10, 1943 in Charlotte, NC, Mike and his mother lived with his maternal grandparents while his father served with the U.S. Army in France during World War II. After the war, the family eventually relocated to Alexandria, VA. Mike attended St. Mary’s Parochial School and graduated from George Washington High School. An enthusiastic lifelong Cavalier, he graduated from the University of Virginia in 1965 and received an MS in Public Administration from American University several years later. A perfect union of mathematicians on the leading edge of the computer revolution materialized as the merger of the Naval data centers of BUMED and the National Naval Medical Center integrated his life with that of Ellen Zollinger. Mike and Ellen married in 1967. The Fergusons moved to Annandale soon after and spent the next 55 years in the community, raising three children and a Dalmatian as Mike worked in information technology as a federal contractor from Northrop Grumman. He also enthusiastically pursued his passions for coaching children’s soccer and cheering on youth sports, gardening, creating and repairing in his workshop, travelling, and avidly following the ups and downs of the Nats. Michael will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. His family and friends will always remember his caring, creative, and curious spirit. He was a gentle and positive person, always ready to help out in any way he could with his familiar adage of “Anytime!”, or with a song each morning to wake up his slumbering family. He also coached and avidly supported his children’s various sporting events from childhood through adulthood. He was a committed coach of the Braddock Bombers, attended countless soccer, lacrosse, basketball, football, and tennis games of the Annandale Atoms, and even caught some intramural games of his children at the University of Virginia. When he was not coaching sports, you could always find Michael with a college or professional sports’ game on, reading the Sports’ page in the Washington Post, or doing its crossword puzzle. Nothing was impossible for Michael to fix! Growing up, he was forever taking things apart and building new creations, such as his neighborhood’s famous go-karts. As a beloved father, he fixed everything from bicycles and cars to appliances and furniture. He will always be remembered by his children for adding a creative hand to a colorful model airplane, a winning Pine Wood derby car, a cake for a Boy Scouts’ cake auction, or even an arm cast wrapped in the foam of an old mattress allowing his daughter to compete in a soccer tournament with a broken arm. Michael had a wonderfully curious mind, enjoying everything from his daily Washington Post and the latest innovations in Scientific American to James Patterson mysteries during their annual beach trips to Rehoboth Beach and bird-identification books whose knowledge he applied in his own backyard and surrounding local parks. If ever anyone had the ultimate green thumb, it was Michael. He could grow, care for, and rejuvenate anything! Going into their home, everyone was amazed at all the beautiful plants that flourished under his care, from spider plants and ferns to orchids and cacti. He once even retrieved a houseplant damaged and discarded by his daughter due to a carpenter ant infestation and nursed it back to a healthy state. Plants gifted to him or left with him by his children quickly were folded into Michael’s nurturing care, expanding indoors along windowsills and countertops as well as outdoors across a verdantly adorned deck. The family of Mike Ferguson is forever grateful for the dear friends and caring medical teams who cared for and supported Mike through his illness. A visitation for Michael will be held Sunday, June 23, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Demaine Funeral Home, 5308 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22151. A funeral mass will occur Tuesday, June 25, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Michael Catholic Church, 7401 St Michaels Lane, Annandale, VA 22003. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation or Doctors Without Borders (MSF).