Charles William "Bill" Ferguson Jr.

Ferguson, Charles William Jr. "Bill" Ann Arbor, MI
Age 86, died Thursday morning, December 15, 2011 after a long battle with congestive heart failure and Alzheimer's, with his loving wife of 27 years, Jane, at his side. Bill was born in Alpena, Michigan on November 28, 1925, the elder son of Charles W. and Laurene Gebhardt Ferguson. He grew up in Flint, Michigan. Immediately after graduating high school he joined the Navy, where he served on the Island of Saipan during World War II. After the war he studied on the GI Bill and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1950. During his career he did pioneering medical data research using computers, first at the Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities (CPHA) and later in the Nephrology Department at University of Michigan Hospitals. He retired in 1992 as Associate Director of the Michigan Kidney Registry. Bill loved his family, the university community, travel, music, and his 3 generations of beagles (Candy, Fergus, and Sliema). He was a devoted member of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor for 47 years. He served on the boards of several community and professional organizations. He was a Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 13 at Dicken School, board member of the Ann Arbor Co-Op Credit Union (later Huron River Area Credit Union, where a scholarship in his honor was awarded annually), Oxbridge Neighborhood Association, Burns Park Senior Center, the National Association of State Kidney Programs, and others. He was author and co-author of many papers on kidney disease. Bill's smiling face could often been seen at MedSport Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, working out, and on their posters. His fine tenor voice could be heard in the UMS Choral Union, Measure for Measure, and the choir of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation. He is survived by his wife, Helen Jane Lipsey, his sister Betty Smith of Ormand Beach, Fl; his brother, Richard (Carol) of Alpena, MI; his sons, David (Diane), Peter (Monica) and Russell (all of Ann Arbor); grandson, Dana (Chicago, Il), granddaughters, Allison and Keely (of Ann Arbor); his beloved stepchildren Ken (Connie) (of Redmond, Wa) and Garrett Lussenden, Patricia Smith, and Sandra (Charles) Hobkirk (all of Ann Arbor); and their eight children and four grandchildren. Mrs. Ferguson and her family would like to thank the staffs at University of Michigan Hospitals, Saline Evangelical Home, and Arbor Hospice for their loving care during her husband's final days. A celebration of his life will be held at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, 4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Road on Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the music program of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, 4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Road, Michigan 48103-8739 or to your favorite charity.