James K. Ferguson

James K. Ferguson passed away before sunrise at home in Glen Ellyn, IL on Sunday, January 30, 2022. He was 67. At 6'4" Jim was striking and charismatic, with a ready smile and a touch of wit and mischief thrown in. In everything Jim did and accomplished, he was creative, adventurous, self-confident and enthusiastic. Those who knew Jim described him as "a vibrant man with a thirst for knowing and a real life spark," as "someone who cared a great deal about people. You could see that in the way he would share his enthusiasm in helping people. He was a wonderful sounding board. He was always, always positive."

Jim was accomplished in two fields with exceptional achievements in fine art photography and educational technology. In both, he was a creative, innovative thinker, cultivating fresh new ways of looking at things. Fine art photography was his lifelong passion, a quest he pursued until the end with significant accomplishments. A reviewer wrote of his work: "you have the kind of mechanism that disturbs our sense of place and time, leading to a feeling of the uncanny, thinking that we might know these spaces, but cannot ever." (See jimfphoto.com)

Jim studied photography and received a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. Jim's photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Ft Worth, the Art Institute of Chicago, MTSU Photographic Gallery and the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.

Jim's work was included in exhibitions curated by prestigious members of the photography community in recent years at Loosen Art in Rome, Italy; Center for Fine Art Photography; Catherine Edelman Gallery; Jurors Award, PhotoPlace; Southeast Center for Photography; and Filter Photo.

His educational technology career included executive positions with industry giants including Pearson Education, where he was VP for Design and Technology, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt where Jim was VP for Research and Development. At Pearson he developed new educational technologies conceiving programs in wholly new areas that were new to Pearson and the world and guiding their creation.

Survivors include his wife and best friend of 39 years, Karen Ferguson; his mother, Carley Ferguson; siblings John (Sandra) Ferguson and Mary Butler (Loren Mickelsen). He is also survived by nephew Michael (Jesse) Ferguson, niece Margaret Butler; grand- nieces Piper Ferguson and Phoebe Ferguson. Jim was preceded in death by his father, James Ferguson.



In lieu of flowers please consider donating to The Jim Ferguson Fund at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago in support of emerging photographers through the purchase of their artwork. Visit MOCP.org to donate in honor of The Jim Ferguson Fund. Private arrangements will be held this summer.