Fergie – Eulogy

Fergie – Eulogy
By Diane Goss
May 23, 2015
James Ferguson We are here to celebrate the life of Jim Ferguson, better known to us as “Ferg.” He was a great friend, husband and father and grandfather and will be sorely missed. I wanted to share a few examples of what his life meant, and how he made the world a little bit better for me and so many others around him.

My name is Diane, and I’ve had the pleasure of being a close family friend since 1968.

Ferg had a very colourful career, first as a paratrooper in the Korean War, and then as the Deputy Warden of Oakalla’s womens prison.

I first met Ferg and Louise through my then-husband Roy, who was coaching Scott in Little League. I learned very early on the strength of Ferg’s character when I found out he not only lived with his immediate family, but also his Mother-in-law, and sister-in-law in great harmony.

Roy and Ferg shared a lifetime love of golf and Ferg’s many championships were followed, later in life, with his helping others as an informal pro at the driving range on the Island. Ferg also was a cheerleader for all the sports Scott and Jaye played.

Soon after we met, they gave us a calendar on which every Friday night was highlighted as ‘Hamburger and Wine Night’ at their place, for us and our friends.

When Roy and I married, Jaye was our darling flower girl. Ferg and Louise were living on Butler Street in South Vancouver at that time and one story was of Scott and Jaye breaking the large front window with a soccer ball.
I said, “At least they were playing outside.”
“No,” Fergie replied. “It was broken from the inside.”

Did Ferg allow the kids to have pets? You would think a dog or cat perhaps?
NO they had 2 ducks named Sam and Sally. They were quite the talk of the neighbourhood! My apologies to Rags, I felt he was more of a guard dog than pet!

After an early retirement, Ferg and Louise packed up the kids and moved to Oyster River. They built a beautiful and welcoming home and farm where friends, family, cows, pigs and chickens gathered for great times. The farmhouse was the site of much love and laughter as well as heated discussions. Ferg was well-read and loved to debate sports
and politics, all with good humour. Some of the best times were on the river, jumping off ropes under the bridge, and inner tubing down the Oyster.
Ferg even built Jaye her own house on the farm—beat that for a Dad !
The farm helped keep Ferg and Louise young, as anyone would know if they’d seen them in their later years, using chainsaws and trimming tools to prune their Christmas trees. For many years, they grew the trees under nearby power lines which they supplied to
happy repeat customers. A special feature of the farm was Ferg’s beloved greenhouses. In the greenhouses he built wood stoves to cheat winter and extend the growing season. What happened to all that produce? He sold many of his tomatoes and other vegetables but it’s rumoured that he also gave away as much as he sold. That was Ferg for you.

This sense of giving extended to the many charities he and Louise supported. One of Ferg’s pet projects was the Cumberland Youth Band. Did the band appreciate it?
Yes, most certainly! One day, a yellow school bus pulled up in front of their home on Mill
Street, and out poured the entire band who then gave an impromptu concert, just for Ferg and Louise.
Ferg also would take large chocolate bars to the tellers at his bank, He would say they never get any thanks. So Sweet of him.
His morning routine would be taking Louise in the car and drive to “The Love Bug” where he would get coffee for himself and Louise to take home. I asked him once when we were over there if he was going to get coffee—Oh yes he said, they would wonder what
happened if I didn’t show up. This was very evident one day after Ferg passed, Jaye for the first time dropped in to the love bug, introduced herself and found just how much they did miss Ferg,,His obitiuary was posted on the fridge in their shop and the owner cried when telling Jaye what a great man her Dad was.

Going back to Ferg’s love of politics. I like to think I made my personal contribution to the political debate, one time when my friends Heidi, Linda and I tried to upset Ferg’s love
affair with Christie Clark and the Liberal party. We went to the local NDP office, gave a false name and address, and took possession of a large NDP supporter sign and installed it on his front lawn on Mill Street.
Imagine the shock on his face!

And what about those kids? He loved Scott and Jaye deeply and often told me how proud he was of both of them and their families and the great choices they’d made in their lives. Ferg said they were so fortunate to have so many grandchildren and great grandchildren, and he loved them all. Jesse, being the first grandson spent many of
his early years with Grandma and Grandpa to their delight.

Jaye, living so close to Ferg, on Mill Street was a comfort to him and Louise, and even more so to Ferg, after the passing of the love of his life.

Jaye recently told me of how Ferg was very critical of her boyfriends,
however when she met Gerry all that changed—- so she married him.
So many good times.

I really miss Ferg and Louise,
Wonderful,loving and giving friends.

When Louise became less able to care for herself, Ferg became a champion caregiver and catered to her every wish with such love and devotion.

After Louise passed on, Ferg was never the same, he really missed his best friend.

Although we miss him, Ferg leaves a little bit of himself behind in each of us. He’s there as long as we smile or sigh or laugh about something he said or did. And in his long life, he said and did a lot.

I know in my heart Ferg and Louise are now together again.

Please raise your glasses to the memory of Ferg one of the greatest men I have known.

Grandpa
by Jesse Ferguson

Grampa
It seems too recently that we were all gathered here to mourn the loss of Gramma Lou. And yet here we are again mourning the loss of Grampa Ferg. Yet, Its time like these that as you age make you reflect on what the truly important things are in life, and who the truly important people and influences are that have shaped the person you’ve become, and the person you hope to be. 
When Gramma left us, the world became a little less bright, and for Grampa Ferg who lost his wife and companion of over 50 years……well..
Grampa was and will always be the kind of man that other men strive to be. Provider, father, imparter of wisdom, athlete, and foremost..a golfer.
Grampa wasn’t without his faults though, anyone who encourages chopping and cutting and driving to pre kindergarten aged kids surely has to be second guessed. 
For years he renegotiated Canadian politics from his chair in the kitchen on Fergie’s farm..well, at least to the locals anyways.
He loved surrounding himself with his kids and grandchildren, great grandchildren, friends and neighbours, or anyone who just needed a place to go and get food and advice..the more the merrier in his eyes..
With the passing of both of them, their loop is now closed, but not forgotten, it’ll be joined by all of our loops as they’re made, forever linking their memories to ours.

Lou’s Eulogy

Mom in Tofino

Lou’s Eulogy
By Kim Ferguson
July 5, 2014
Thank you everyone for gathering and joining with us to celebrate the life of Louise Ferguson. For those of you who may not know me, my name is Kim Ferguson; I am Scott’s wife; Louise’s favourite daughter-in-law, actually, in truth, ……her only daughter in law. I am going to take you back in time and share Louise’s history and life with you. Louise Axdal was born Jun 3, 1926, to an Icelandic family, in a little prairie town of Saskatchewan, named Wynyard. She was born the 3rd to last, in a family of 12 children. Unfortunately, she lost her father to pneumonia at an early age, and her mother never remarried. With a large family

in the depression, and the cold prairie life, hard work to survive was not unfamiliar to Lou. As the slideshows portray her early years, she was athletic, had a sense of humor, and was a skinny tomboy. After graduating stenography school with the highest marks in speed typing, she decided to move to Vancouver with her best friend, my mother, Doreen Robertson. The two young women quickly found employment, and soon after, at a skating rink, she met the love of her life: Jim Ferguson. In 1953, the couple was married and bought their first home in Vancouver on Butler Street. Their home was a center of activity for friends and family to gather where love and laughter would always be present. Lou was a good neighbour; she volunteered; she consistently donated blood. She was a stay at home mom; she was very tolerant, always positive and full of fun and adventure. She did not raise her children Scott and Jaye by the handbook of the day, but allowed them creativity and free-reign. One day at the age of about 5, she allowed Scott and his friend Howie to have hatchets and go play in the back woods. Oddly enough they survived and came home unscathed. In 1973, the family moved to Oyster River and built a home on 7 acres. Lou loved the outdoors, and together, Ferg and Lou were able to earn their living from their passion, by spacing and planting trees for Crown Forest and later with their Christmas tree farms. She also loved her life on the farm; it was a place where everyone was welcome. She started and organized the annual Polar Bear swim at Saratoga Beach. She was a caretaker; she loved to putter, she whistled, she loved happy hour. She cared for the underdog, and always gave people the benefit of the doubt. She was always present to support and love those around her.

Eventually, Lou became a grandma. She was always willing to help with the grandkids and, as I said previously, she was a creative and liberal caretaker, which resulted in a few “Adventures in Babysitting”. One day, she was watching our son, Jesse, when he was 3, and she lost him….in her house. She looked and called all over the house and eventually narrowed it down to the kitchen. She could hear him, but she couldn’t find him. After much searching, she finally found him cornered in the back of the lazy Susan, or the twirly bird, as she called it. Another time she was babysitting Hannah and Chris for Jaye. This time, she lost Chris. She began to search the trailer for him. She heard a thumping sound coming from the dryer. She opened the door and pulled Chris out….rubber boots and all. His eyes were as big as saucers. He said, “Bumma I go wound and wound”. The kids loved going to grandmas and often never wanted to come home for days on end. Reflecting back now on a few of these stories, I wonder if they didn’t come home because they didn’t want to, or because she was still trying to find them?

Well, Lou too had her own adventures. One night she was putting the dog out and walked straight into a post at the bottom of the stairs. The next morning she woke up with two great big black eyes. When little Chris saw her black eyes, he was terrified and said, “Bumma take it off, take it off”. He thought she was wearing a mask. After that, we dubbed her “Raccoon Gramma”. She also had an issue with falling asleep while driving. One hot summer day, driving back from town to the farm, there was road construction, so the trip took longer than usual. Ferg saw her arrive in another man’s car; he asked her what happened? She said,” I fell asleep, and woke up to see branches and leaves flying by me”. She had crossed the other side of the highway and cleared a 50’ swath through the woods. The Toyota was a mess, but she was okay. Hence, she got another new name: Mario, after the racecar driver.

In 2009, Lou and Ferg moved to Cumberland and lived next door to their daughter Jaye and family. Lou would regularly visit her last living sibling, Lenora, at the home in Cumberland. When Jaye went to share with Auntie Lennie the news that Lou had passed away, Auntie Lennie said, “She was the best of us”.

In closing, once contemplating her own life, Lou stated, “she knew why she was here: just to love….love, love, love”. Each of you has had a relationship with Lou, and has been touched by that love that emanated from her life. Myself, I was blessed and honoured to know Lou my whole life and to hold her dear as my mother-in-law. She was a mentor for me. She was funny, compassionate and would give the shirt off her back to anyone. As my family knows, I have always said that I want to live my life to the fullest, as my mother-in-law does and did. I always knew and never doubted, she loved me, no matter what, because that was what her whole life was about…..love. Although she could barely speak at the very end, her first and last words to me in the hospital were “love you”.

Gramma
by Jesse Ferguson

A few times in your life you meet iconic people. They have a long-lasting influential impact on your life..gramma and grandpa were those people for so many.
As a child growing up on Fergie’s farm I learned to chop wood..and yes gramma..the occasional finger..don’t worry mom and dad still don’t know..I never missed an opportunity to sleep over. She would get up and bring me endless bowls of oatmeal and pancakes As teenagers we still rarely missed a chance to go to the farm…why would we..where else could you swim all day and have lunch catered to you by the Axdal women..then head down to the river and drive the farm trucks.. As adults the chances became fewer to visit the farm, but we still did as often as we could, to show off our kids and spouses… It’s time let her go..but we’ll carry on without her..the world will be a little less bright without her for a time .but now it’s our turn to take over her roll for a time..and help everyone we meet..everyone we love..and bring a little bit of her brightness back to the world.