Martin E. Ferguson

Martin E. Ferguson, 45, of Gardner, Kansas passed away in his home surrounded by his family on November 30, 2006 after a 7 year battle with brain cancer. Martin formerly lived in DeLand, Illinois as well as Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio. He leaves behind his wife of 25 years, Lori (Moore); two sons, Chris and Gentry; his mother, Darlene Ferguson of Lincoln, Illinois; a brother, Bill (Pam) of White Bear Twp, Minnesota; two sisters, Rev. Julie (Randy) Azbell of Lincoln, Illinois and Barb (Brian) Beyer of Erie, Colorado. He is preceded in death by a close family friend, Sandy Scheffert, of Normal, Illinois; a sister, Janice Collins of Bloomington, Illinois; and his father, Bill of Lincoln, Illinois. Martin was born April 27, 1961 in Bloomington, Illinois. He graduated from DeLand-Weldon High School in 1979. He served in the United States Air Force for 5 years as an airborne Chinese Linguist, doing his training at San Angelo Air Force Base in Texas as well as in Monterey California before being stationed in Okinawa, Japan. After an honorable discharge, Martin was employed for 16 years by Deluxe Check Printers in their Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio offices and then in the Kansas City offices. He worked for Deluxe until his diagnosis of cancer in January 2000. Martin will be remembered for his strength of character, positive attitude, unfailing good humor, and that beautiful smile in the face of such a devastating disease. His many friends and family are honored to have been a part of his journey. A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held Monday, December 4 from 6:00-7:00pm at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home, 14275 S. Blackbob Rd., Olathe, Kansas. Family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Funeral services will be held in Saybrook, Illinois at the Saybrook Christian Church with the Rev. David Taylor officiating, on Thursday, December 7, at 1:00 p.m. Family will receive friends an hour prior to services at the church. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Saybrook. At Martin's request, casual dress requested for his services. The family would like to thank Dr. David Lee and oncology nurses Cami, Julie and Amber of Olathe Cancer Care, as well as to all Martin's other gals in MRI and the Lab at Olathe Medical for their gentle care of him throughout his illness. Also, a very special thank you to our Olathe Hospice team: Sandy, Diana and Clarence for all your love and care during his last days. Donations in his name may be made to City Union Mission of Kansas City, Missouri or to the American Cancer Society. To leave a special message for the family, visit www. PenwellGabel.com.