Willie O. Ferguson's Obituary
Willie O'Neal Ferguson
September 1, 1930 -" December 25, 2009
Willie O'Neal Ferguson was born Willie O'Neal McPherson on September 1, 1930 to Nathanial and Nancy Mosley McPherson. She grew up in Pensacola, Florida the eldest child and only daughter. Willie liked to be called Neal.
Neal was always an industrious child, hard working, results oriented and focused on rising above her circumstances of early poverty and discrimination in a Jim Crow South. Some of her fondest memories were spent in the pursuit of higher education and in her training as a dental assistant following graduation from high school.
Happy as these memories were, they paled in comparison to meeting the love of her life, Richard Brudis Ferguson, who later became a solider in the United States Army. After a whirl wind courtship they wed in May of 1952. To this union were born three children, a son and two daughters, Richard B. Ferguson Jr., Doreen Ferguson and Dian E. Ferguson.
As the wife of a solider and the mother of three children, together they journeyed to Europe, living in France, Germany, Italy and various parts of the USA including Pensacola, Florida where the eldest child and son was born prior to coming to Tacoma, Washington where Doreen then Dian was born.
Working together her and Richard built a family business of rental houses and apartment complexes. She had great financial insight and was a wizard of investment and business sensibility.
Her faith and love of God and the church ran deep. Upon arriving in Tacoma she joined St. John Baptist Church where she served many years in the choir prior to joining Bethlehem Baptist Church under the leadership of then pastor Robert Davis. She settled in at Bethlehem and was actively involved in the activities of the church including many years of service as the President of the Women's Choir and as an active member of the Baptist Training Union.
Willie delighted in watching her children and later grandchildren grow and thrive. She had a love for home and family always pushing everyone towards excellence and achievement while supporting her children and grandchildren in their successes and shortcomings.
She leaves behind to keep her memories alive, one son, Richard B. Ferguson Jr. DDS, two daughters, Doreen X Ferguson and Dian E. Ferguson and five grandsons. They include: Richard Ferguson VI, Isaiah James Ferguson, Elliott A. Coby Ferguson, William Ferguson, Alex Ferguson and there mother Pam Street Ferguson. One brother, Nathanial McPherson Jr., known and remembered as Junior preceded her in death. Her youngest brother Willie James McPherson resides in Pensacola, Florida with his family and a host of many nieces and nephews.
Neal is pleased to have garnered a host of friends over her lifetime, many of whom reside in the Tacoma/Seattle area. There will be a private family memorial service on Wednesday, January 6th followed by a public burial at Tahoma National Cemetery, in Kent, Washington at 1 PM a top of her husband of 51 years, Richard B. Ferguson Sr. who preceded her in death in April of 2003. Once more they will be together again. Remembrances can be made to a favorite charity.
Arrangements by Mountain View Funeral Home
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