Verna Margaret Isobel (King) Ferguson
Architect, activist, wife, mother, grandmother. Born on Sept. 29, 1934, in Shellbrook, Sask.; died on June 20, 2015, in Ottawa, from complications due to multiple myeloma, aged 80.
When she studied architecture at the University of Manitoba in the late 1950s, Verna King was the only woman in her class. The prairie girl didn't mind being exceptional, although she never would have described herself as such. She completed her studies in Scotland and went on to work as an architect in England, Holland, the United States and Canada.
Verna loved solving puzzles and tackled each design and building project as rooted in function but infused with personal significance. Public housing projects she worked on in Britain had particular social significance, exemplifying her belief that good design and housing should be accessible to all.
It was a long way from her childhood in small-town Saskatchewan, where she was born after a difficult labour at home. The doctor warned her father that he might not be able to save both mother and child. Both endured, and Verna spent her childhood with her parents and three sisters in Kerrobert, a tight-knit community where she would run errands to the butcher shop on her own as a toddler. Her family's phone number consisted of two digits, and her high-school graduating class had about a dozen students.
After studying and working in Europe, Verna joined the City of Toronto's planning department and met Ian Ferguson, another planner. They married in 1968 and headed to Madison, Wis., where Ian pursued graduate studies. They went on to live in Coventry, England, Cornwall, Ont., and Ottawa, and raised two daughters, Karen and Maura.
Verna was not one to be easily deterred (one of her sons-in-law diplomatically described her as "persistent") and her resolve was backed up by her sharp intellect and integrity. While in Toronto in 1965, she became a member of the Friends of Old City Hall, a citizens' group formed to save the landmark Romanesque revival building from demolition to make way for the new Eaton Centre. Their efforts paid off: Old City Hall remains and the shopping centre was built across the street.
A lifelong supporter of the New Democratic Party, Verna was passionate about politics and human rights. In 1966 she went to Mississippi to take part in the historic civil rights march begun by a young black man, James Meredith, and continued by leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.
Her professional accomplishments included highly personal projects: She designed modernist homes for her parents and one of her sisters, as well as extensive renovations for each of her daughters' homes in Ottawa and San Francisco.
When Verna reached retirement age, she and Ian, who was working for the federal government, moved to Ottawa. There she volunteered as an English-language tutor for adult immigrants. She became close with several of her students and helped them adjust to their new lives, from renting apartments to finding work for themselves and schools for their children.
She also spent a great deal of time caring for her six grandchildren, who brought her immense joy, and loved going to movies, particularly the art house ByTowne Cinema. When invited to see a film she would always respond, "Sure!" without asking which movie it was.
Even in illness, Verna showed great dignity. She was ahead of her time in so many ways, and her courage remains an inspiration.
Maura Ferguson is Verna's daughter.