Larry Gale Ferguson

Larry Gale Ferguson was born June 29, 1939, in rural Wellsville, Kansas, the son of Edward W. and Vera E. (Potter) Ferguson. His family lived on a farm north of Ottawa and he graduated from Ottawa High School with the class of 1958. Larry passed away Tuesday, February 25, 2020 surrounded by his family at the age of eighty years. Funeral services will be held at 9:00 A.M., Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Ottawa First United Methodist Church. Family will meet with friends from 5:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M., Friday, March 6, 2020 at Dengel & Son Mortuary, Ottawa. Interment Highland Cemetery, Ottawa. Larry worked as a mechanic at the Ottawa Ford Company, as a driver for the Ottawa Pepsi Cola plant, and as a mechanic for the Sunflower Ammunition Plant in De Soto, Kansas. While working for Sunflower he purchased farm equipment from his uncle, Fred Ferguson, and began farming with his Dad in 1966. A few years later his brothers, Roger and then Eddie, joined the farming operation becoming known as the Ferguson Brothers. On December 10, 1961 Larry was united in marriage to Miriam Rappard at Worden Evangelical United Brethren Church in Worden, Kansas. He then served 6 years in the Kansas National Guard from 1961 to 1967 attaining the rank of Sergeant. The couple purchased their farm from his grandmother Flossie Ferguson in 1968. The elementary school known as the New Union School Larry attended was located on the property. They remodeled the school building into their current home. Over the years Larry served on the Tauy Creek Watershed Board and the Ottawa CO-OP Board. As his children grew, he helped coach their various football and baseball teams. The five brothers and their families went on numerous vacations together across the country from coast to coast. This included camping, motorcycle trips and ski trips to Colorado every Spring Break. He enjoyed attending activities for his children and grandchildren and rarely missed an event. One of his favorite pastimes was watching westerns, especially Gunsmoke and John Wayne movies. He also enjoyed checking on the fields that they farmed. He was a self-taught carpenter and drew plans for building the farm equipment storage sheds, his workshop, and the addition of a family room to their home. He used his mechanical knowledge throughout his farming career. He continued to operate farm equipment through the harvest of 2019 at age eighty for a total of fifty-three years. Ferguson Brothers was a successful farming operation where their motto was “If you don’t have cash, don’t buy it”. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Vera Ferguson and his brothers Eddie and Roger Ferguson. Larry is survived by his wife, Miriam, of 58 years of the home. Other survivors include three children, daughter, Tammy Engle and husband Tom of Saint Charles, Missouri; and sons, Doug and wife Marci of Wellsville, Kansas and Scott and wife Christy of Ottawa, Kansas; two brothers, Fred and wife Marlene of Ottawa, Kansas and Bill and wife Rhonda of Pomona, Kansas; two sisters-in-law, Nancy Ferguson and Camilla Ferguson both of Ottawa, Kansas. Also surviving are seven grandchildren: Kelsie, Trenton, Derrek, Paige, Bret, Jared, and Seth. The family suggests memorial contributions to OHS Wrestling Club c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, Kansas 66067.