Betty Jane Ferguson, age 102, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 2, 2026, in Winona, Missouri. She was born on November 30, 1923, in Eminence, Missouri, to Warren “Ed” and Celia Johnson of Eminence, Missouri. As one of nine siblings, she grew up on the family farm in Eminence and attended school there.
In 1939, she married the love of her life, Denver Ray Ferguson “Fergie,” and they were married until his passing in 2003. They had two children, Richard Ferguson (Jan) and Beth Fry (Tom). She moved to St. Louis with several siblings in 1940 and got a job at Wagner Electric to support the war efforts. During her tenure at Wagner Electric, she made many lifelong friends and had an active social life. In the evenings, you could find her bowling in several leagues, attending roller derby, or cheering on Big Time Wrestling at the Kiel Auditorium.
Upon Denver’s retirement, they moved back to Winona to the family farm and were heavily involved in the Winona Senior Center. You could always find her at bingo or playing Pitch – often winning. The Friday night tradition was fish and settling back to watch WWE.
Betty’s legacy will live on through the love of her family. She left them all with memories of her infectious laugh and stories, love of the St. Louis Cardinals and game shows, her fantastic cooking – especially chicken and dumplings and blackberry cobbler, casinos – especially three card poker and blackjack, and love of Clinique lipsticks. She never let a meal go by without having a tomato slice.
She is preceded in death by her parents and husband, Denver Ray “Fergie”.
Betty is survived by son, Richard Ferguson (Jan), and daughter Beth Fry (Tom); grandchildren Jennifer Ferguson, Roberta Ferguson, Cindy Burton, Sandy Johnson, Jason Fry, and Christine Fields; thirteen great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
