Carrie Ester Ferguson

Obituary 

Carrie Ester Dowd was born April 29, 1935 in Brooksville, Mississippi to the union of Tommie Dowd, Jr., and Genora Perry. She was reared by her grandparents Tommie Sr. ,and Carrie Dowd. She was one of eight children. She started her education at Baldwin Elementary School. At an early age she confessed Christ and became a member of Baldwin United Methodist Church as she attended Wilson High School in Brooksville, Mississippi.

After moving to Fairfield, Alabama to live with loving relatives, she completed her education at Fairfield Industrial High School. Carrie continued her Christian journey and chose to become a Seventh-day Adventist. While she attended Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama she became friends with Rock & Roll legend, Little Richard and other notable people in the Adventist Church. 

Carrie moved to Los Angeles, California in 1958. She found work as a nanny in Sherman Oaks, California for actors Ann & Dan Barton. In 1959, she gave birth to her first son Roderick and later in 1961, Eric was born. When her sons were young, she married Joseph Ferguson. Carrie worked as an educator for many years at the Equal Opportunity Youth Agency (EOYA). Carrie retired in 2000 from the United States Postal Service at the Inglewood Bulk Mail Processing Center in Marina Del Rey, California.

Carrie became a devoted member of Tamarind Seventh-Day Adventist Church, where she loved singing alto in the choir with Pearl King and Belle Harden. Carrie moved to Victorville, California and joined Restoration Center Seventh-Day Adventist Church. She remained a member until her death.

Carrie loved people and welcomed anyone and everyone into her home. She took on the biblical approach of I Peter 4:9 “Use hospitality one to another, without grudging”. 

Carrie’s favorite pastime was playing cards, dominoes and Scrabble with her family and friends. They would drive near and far to challenge her. Carrie found the most enjoyment fishing in the Colorado River and in Winter Haven where she often stayed with her good friend, Avery. She had a strong desire to revisit her favorite fishing places which included the aforementioned and her birth place in Mississippi.

Carrie departed this life on June 28, 2020. She was preceded in death by her mother, Genora Perry; grandfather, Tommie Dowd, Sr.; son, Roderick Brown; grandmother, Carrie Dowd; aunt, Lula Wilson; sisters, Mary and Eula Jean; father, Tommie Dowd Jr; brothers, Ruben, TJ, Leo and Charles.  Carrie leaves to cherish her memory her son, Eric Dowd (Reed); one brother, Bishop Leroy Dowd; two sisters Bernice Brown and Amanda Moore (Russell); two grandsons, Decoryon and Marquise; and a host of  nieces, nephews, cousins and a multitude of friends.