James L. Ferguson

Jim was born on April 26,1928, in Iberia, Missouri, to the late Oral Ferguson and Helen Rames Briggs. He was a lifelong student of the world and a teacher of literature, and he was treasured by generations of students who attended his classes.

Growing up during the Great Depression, Jim and his family moved west in the 1930s, as part of that era’s great migration, and resettled in the Los Angeles area. His father was an itinerant worker, and Jim and his parents lived in their car for a year when he was very young. His mother taught him to read, inspiring a love of the written word that became his life’s passion.

Losing his father when he was just 21, Jim eventually attended community college in southern California and finished his bachelor’s degree in English at Occidental College (Oxy) before serving in the Korean War, where he used his self-taught typing skills to work as a secretary. After rising to the rank of corporal, he was honorably discharged in 1953 and returned to his academic studies at Oxy under the GI Bill, completing a PhD in literature and meeting the love of his life, Lorice Mittry (Lori), whom he married in 1958.

The couple and their two young daughters, Kathleen and Lynne, moved to southern Indiana in 1963, where Jim took a teaching post at Hanover College, a small liberal arts school. He remained there until his retirement in 1992, having earlier been awarded the James A. and Sophronia R. McKee Professorship of English Literature, an endowed chair and the first that was offered in modern times by the college. During his 29 years at Hanover, he taught modern drama and literature. Drawing on his wide-ranging academic interests, he offered many popular courses, including classes on John Milton and on William Faulkner. His deep interest in the southern writer led to writing and publishing Faulkner’s Short Fiction in 1991 (University of Tennessee Press).

The revered professor served in many leadership roles while working at the college, including as department chair, and he adamantly espoused the cause of academic freedom throughout his career. Jim and Lori also created and ran the Hanover Film Society for many years, screening classic movies for students and faculty and hosting post-film discussions in their home. Classical music was another passion that they shared, and they attended many concerts, as well as plays, in nearby Louisville over the decades.

Jim adored, supported, and cared for Lori, who grappled with chronic, debilitating health issues for several decades. After she died in 2003, he continued to live in Hanover for a few more years, caring for his mother (who had moved to Indiana and who lived to 102), keeping up with local friends, and welcoming his extended family for Thanksgiving visits. In 2011 he moved to Austin, Texas, to live with his younger daughter Lynne for four years, continuing to read voraciously, enjoying lively book club discussions, and spending many hours happily doing crossword puzzles and watching his favorite sports: Los Angeles Dodgers baseball, golf, and tennis.

In 2015 Jim moved to Charlottesville to be near Kathleen and her husband David Chapman. Living at The Colonnades retirement community for more than five years, Jim made numerous friends, established and led a fiction class, participated in play reading, essay writing, and poetry classes, and enjoyed the lively peer group he found in Virginia.

Jim is survived by Kathleen, Lynne, and David; by his beloved sister-in-law, Jeanne Shikany of Pleasant Hill, CA; by Jeanne’s children, Lisa Shikany (and her husband Tim Meyers) of Fortuna, CA, and James (and his wife Tammy) Shikany of Hoover, AL, and their family; and by his grandchildren: Thomas Chapman of Baltimore, Matthew (and his wife Jessica) Chapman of San Marcos, TX, Samuel Chapman of Portland, OR, and Emma Chapman of Charlottesville.

Celebrations of Jim’s life will be held in both Hanover and Charlottesville at later dates.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Dr. James L. Ferguson Memorial Scholarship fund either online, at https://giving.hanover.edu/Ferguson-memorial-scholarship, or via mail (with “Dr. James L. Ferguson Scholarship” written on the check) at this address: Hanover College, Advancement Services, 517 Ball Drive, Hanover, Indiana 47243.