Gary Ferguson
 

Memorial for Gary Ferguson

Born on Sep. 24, 1940
Departed on Jan. 10, 2012 and resided in Corvallis, OR.
Service: Friday, Jan. 13, 2012

R. GARY FERGUSON

Gary Ferguson was born Sept. 24, 1940, in Albany, Oregon, son of Robert O. and Esther L. Ferguson and died January 10, 2012. He is survived by this sister Nancy Ferguson; cousins Joyce Allmon, Portland; Reed Vollstedt, Edith Hise, and Rex Vollstedt of Eugene; Margaret Weymouth, California; Alice Edwards, Johnson City, Tenn.; Barbara Stewart, Huntington Beach, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He spent his first eight grades at the Fairmont School in North Albany and graduated from Albany Union High School in 1958. His summers during high school were spent working for his mother's family Nebergall Meat Company in Albany.

Gary enjoyed 10 years in 4-H, raising livestock and doing forestry projects. A high point for him was attending the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago in 1958. He was recognized at the Chicago Congress with the prestigious National Meat Animal Award and earned a college scholarship. When he entered Cal Poly University his goal was to make a career in the meat packing industry. He spent three years at Cal Poly working toward a degree in animal science and agricultural engineering. His grandfather, D.E. Nebergall, knew the Dean of the School of Agriculture at Cal Poly and helped direct him to the school. Gary remembers his grandfather as a person with a "hands on approach" which he said greatly appealed to him and became a trademark for Gary throughout his life. He also said his grandfather told him that one of the roles of college was to teach you what you don't want to do. And Gary learned that his chosen field in animal science and agricultural engineering was what he didn't want to do.

What Gary really liked to do was use equipment. During his summers in college he worked for Rowley and Parker Tree Farm Service operating a dozer and building logging roads in the McDonald Forest. After completing three years at Cal Poly he joined Rowley and Parker as a partner in 1964.

On January 1, 1970, he entered into business for himself and incorporated Ferguson Logging Company. His first major customer was Boise Cascade which blossomed into a relationship that lasted for years. He built roads, crushed rock, and did contract logging for them as well as other forest land owners.

In 1983 he leased two rock quarries from Starker Forests and began a commercial aggregate business. In 1987 he merged with M.O. Salmon and Sons to form S2F Corporation. The new business not only included the Starker quarries, but added the Coffin Butte Quarry as well. S2F focused on commercial construction aggregates, grading and road building projects.

In 1994 Morse Bros. Inc. purchased a 50% interest in S2F Corporation and the business continued to operate with Gary at the helm. In 1998, S2F merged, along with Morse Bros, into MDU Resources, a New York Stock Exchange company. The businesses now operate under Knife River, a wholly owned subsidiary of MDU.
Gary retired in 2003.

However, retirement was not in Gary's vocabulary. He purchased a 50% interest in L&M welding and then with other investors, purchased the remaining 50%, forming L&M Industrial Fabrication in 2004. The business relocated to Tangent and has grown to serve industrial customers throughout the west coast.

He was an early member of the Association of Oregon Loggers and was honored several times by the Oregon State Department of Forestry for exceptional effort in logging difficult projects with minimal damage to creeks and protection of sensitive areas. He was a member of the Albany Boys and Girls Club Foundation and a strong supporter of 4-H.

Gary is remembered by many friends and acquaintances as a man who loved to work and create things. His relaxation was his work, trying to make things better. His father Robert was an outstanding artist who created incredibly detailed and beautiful wood and ivory works of art. Gary was very much like his father, only rather than using fine tools, he used a D-8 crawler tractor. He said shortly before his death, "I like to do the right thing."

He will be remembered by his friends, family, customers, suppliers, associates, and business partners as a man "who did the right thing."

A memorial service will be held in his honor Friday, January 13, 11:00 am at the Albany Boys and Girls Club. Officiating will be the Rev. Donna Pritchard and Senator Frank Morse.

Memorials may be made to The Albany Boys and Girls Club, Evergreen Hospice House, or Linn Benton Community College Foundation, c/o Fisher Funeral Home, 306 SW Washington St., Albany, OR 97321. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.fisherfuneralhome.com.