Joseph Ferguson Jr.

1935 - 2024

Joseph M. Ferguson, Jr.



Mar 24, 1935 â€" Jan 16, 2024

Joseph ("Joe") M. Ferguson, Jr., a long-time resident of Albuquerque, passed away on January 16, 2024 at the age of 88, in Tucson, Az. Joe was born March 24, 1935, in Lexington, Ky, to Joseph Martin, Sr., and Margaret (McAlister). The family moved to Albuquerque in 1940, where Joe attended Albuquerque schools and was in one the earliest classes to graduate from Highland High School in 1953. Joe attended UNM, where he met and married Holly Merki in 1958, and where Holly earned her B.S. in Geology and Joe his M.A. in English in 1959. They settled in Flagstaff, Az, in 1971, where they lived for 29 years and raised three sons. Joe worked as a college instructor and a bookman for several publishers, and Holly was a planetary geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. Joe and Holly lived in Oregon during their retirement years, doting on their beloved Red Heeler, Dilsey, and after Holly's death in 2010, Joe returned to Albuquerque.

Joe excelled at athletics as a young man. Along with his father and brother, Joe was active in the Albuquerque tennis scene during the 1950s, with his father involved in coaching, and Joe playing on the Highland High and UNM teams, earning the title of top junior singles player in New Mexico twice. Joe attracted major attention by winning the Southwest Sectional Tennis Championships at age 15 and 18, going on to the National Junior Championship in Kalamazoo, Mi. He was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of New Mexico and was one of the top singles and doubles players, winning a Skyline Conference Championship in 1957. Years later, Joe teamed up with mixed doubles partner and friend Bobbie Isaacson to win the Southwest 45 Mixed Doubles in 1981.

Joe had a successful career teaching at the university level, and later in college textbook sales, traveling widely to colleges throughout the Mountain States, blending his love for books and his enchantment with the natural beauty of the West's back roads and forgotten places. Joe published dozens of stories and poems in journals and periodicals throughout his life, as well as three books of fiction, The Summerfield Stories (1985, TCU Press), Westering (2010, Inkwater Press), and The Roads Around Perdido (2019, Sunstone Press), which was a finalist in the New Mexico - Arizona Book Awards.

Joe had a gentle spirit and was a compassionate and patient man. He often knew just what to say, or how to offer some guidance when things were most difficult in life. Joe loved dogs and early in his retirement he was a volunteer dog walker at the local humane shelter, which he described as "some of his best work." He will be profoundly missed. He was preceded in death by his wife Holly (d 2010), son Cameron (d 1980), brother Alan (d 2017) (Susanne Robbins), and nephew Gavin (d 2010). He is survived by his sons Lucian ("Luke") (Lee Aalund), of Tucson, Az.; Deron (Deborah Giddings), of Bellevue, Wa; grandchild Rayne, of Seattle, Wa; niece Shannon (Chris Rockett), great-niece Kiersten, and great-nephew Kade, all of Albuquerque.

A celebration of Joe's life will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 3, 2024 at the Blue Agave Villas community, 4101 Meadowlark Lane, SE, Rio Rancho. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributing to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine or any charity of choice.