L.D. Ferguson remembered
A common epitaph for the deceased is “Gone, but not forgotten.” For L.D. Ferguson, who passed away Oct. 26, most likely he’ll be remembered and talked about for a long time.
Ferguson, 94, was a veteran known for his vast community service in Burnet County.
“L.D. had a great personality, and I’ll remember his ability to play cards and dance, even in his 80s and 90s,” said Mary Meyer, a member of the Marble Falls Senior Activity Center, where Ferguson spent a lot of his time.
“It’s my opinion that everyone that knows Mr. Ferguson would tell you he is the nicest man ever,” longtime friend and neighbor Larry Jones said. “He has been extremely generous in his gifts to various organizations in Marble Falls, particularly with the Senior Center, where he not only donated money, but every year would donate the turkeys and hams for the Thanksgiving meals. What a great guy.”
The oldest of eight children, Ferguson was born Aug. 26, 1923 in Fairland in his family’s farmhouse.
He attended both Fairland School and Marble Falls School and, in his youth, hauled gravel used to build Wirtz Dam Road.
Ferguson worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps, clearing debris from Longhorn Caverns, building parts of the pathways in the caverns and building Park Road 4 and placing the boulders along the road. They are still there today.
Prior to World War II, Ferguson worked in a war essential occupation as a welder and shipbuilder in the Houston shipyards.
He volunteered for the U.S. Army in 1943 and served in the infantry. He was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines and was wounded in the New Guinea Campaign. There, he received a Purple Heart.
After WWII, he served in Korea during the Korean War. He was then subsequently stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Germany and numerous other posts.
Ferguson retired Jan. 31, 1968 to a ranch near Little Rock, Arkansas, where he raised cows and farmed hay on almost a thousand acres. He also worked full time for the VA Hospital in Little Rock.
After retiring from farming in 1996, Ferguson moved to Marble Falls, where he and his wife, Nellie Leona (Rushing) bought a home in Pecan Valley.
“L.D.,” as his friends called him, was director of operations of the new addition to the Marble Falls Senior Activity Center and also served as treasurer. Friends say he really enjoyed the center and all his friends there.
“He was very instrumental in building the new addition on the center in 2007,” Meyer said. “He was a very friendly, likeable person who attended our dances as long as his health would allow it. He supported everything we did — dances, card playing. He would also donate a meal or two for Thanksgiving. He was an all-around good guy, likeable by everybody.”
Those preceding Ferguson in death include Nellie (his wife of more than 50 years), his parents Samuel “Sam” Riley Ferguson and Clara May (Tumlinson) Ferguson, three brothers, Deward Riley Ferguson, Dewey Lyndon Ferguson, Vernon Harwood Ferguson and a sister, Katherine Elizabeth Cox.
Ferguson leaves behind a sister, Beulah May Mills of Austin, two brothers, Samuel Riley Ferguson Jr. of Zavalla and Larry Riley Ferguson of Daytona.
Ferguson is also survived by two grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, many nieces and nephews and a host of friends.
Final arrangements
A family spokesperson said cremation will be at Wilcox Funeral Home, with a memorial service Monday, Nov. 11 at the Marble Falls Senior Center. Visit the obituary page here on HighlanderNews.com for more information.
