Regular readers know of my penchant for writing these posts "To Absent Friends" whenever some person notable in history, show biz, sports, or popular culture passes away. Rarely do I note the deaths of personal friends and acquaintances because such folks are not generally known by everyone and because they are, well, personal. However, I do feel compelled to note the sudden passing this week of friend John Ferguson at the age of 76.
Like me, John was a long time employee of Highmark. In fact, a lot longer than me. John worked for the Blues for 42 years, but John and I did not know each other when our work careers overlapped. I first met John via the Society for American Baseball Research. John was a long time member of SABR, and I can never recall John missing a meeting or a Hot Stove session. Then, when I retired from Highmark in 2010 and joined the Out of the Blue Retiree Club, I encountered John once again, and no one was a bigger supporter of the OOTB Club than John. I cannot remember John missing a meeting, Holiday Party, Picnic, or our group days at Pirates games. More importantly, he never missed a Board meeting, which are not always "fun", but they were necessary in making sure that the OOTB runs smoothly.
John loved the Pittsburgh Pirates. I last saw John last Wednesday, the day after the Pirates defeated the Reds in the Wild Card Playoff Game. "Wasn't that wonderful?" was what he said to me about that game.
John was very active in his community - he was the Treasurer of the Borough Mt. Lebanon for 28 years - and in his Church. A terrific husband, father, and grandfather. He always had a good word to say about everybody, and I can't think of a better thing to say about anybody.
RIP John Ferguson. You truly were one of the Good Guys.
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