SEPTEMBER 4, 1941 - FEBRUARY 15, 2015
Mae Louise Ferguson (née Breitinger) of Concord Township, Ohio, passed away February 15th after a 13 month battle with pancreatic cancer. Mae was born at Dixie Hospital in Hampton, Virginia, September 4, 1941, the daughter of E. Allen and Gertrude (Trudi) Breitinger. When Mae was two years old her family moved to Berea, Ohio where she grew up and attended Berea High School (’59.) She was a National Honor Society student, active in the Future Teachers of America and many school plays. Mae graduated from Baldwin Wallace College (B.S.) in 1963. Mae began her teaching career in Berea and later moved to the South Euclid-Lyndhurst system. She married Charles David Ferguson in 1966 and moved to McConnelsville, Ohio in 1967. Mae taught third grade at McConnelsville and started their special education program. In 1973 she stepped away from teaching to start a family and gave birth to Andrew David (Katherine) and in 1975 to Benjamin William (Asami.) The family relocated to Concord Township, Ohio in 1976. Mae completed a Master’s Degree specializing in gifted education at Cleveland State University in 1990. Mae spent many summers on Cape Cod and grew to love the Cape. Later in life she split her time between Ohio and Cape Cod. Mae travelled the world but however far away she went, she always seemed to be on her way back to the Cape and to Cold Storage Beach. Mae became an accomplished artist specializing in water color painting. She enjoyed tennis, skiing and bridge. In 2008 Mae became ‘Grammie Mae’ with the birth of her granddaughter Josette Marietta Ferguson. Mae is survived by her sister, Carol B Barnes and brother, James Breitinger (Talitha) and was preceded in death by both parents and her elder brother Allen Breitinger. Mae was known for her tremendous positivity and sense of humor. Strangers were just friends she hadn’t met yet. Whether at the Great Wall of China or the grocery store, she could get to know someone’s life story in 4 minutes. Mae was known for her quiet generosity. In the midst of her radiation and chemotherapy, Mae would always ask other cancer patients about their illness. Despite the severity of of her illness, she would, without fail, tell them that she would pray for them. Mae left this world surrounded by family and friends in her home. The strength of her faith powered her throughout her life and over the course of her battle with cancer. She was fond of saying“God’s in my pocket.” Mae is in God’s pocket now.
A celebration honoring Mae will be held Hope Ridge Methodist Church April 25. The service will officially start at 1:00 PM but, in honor of Mae’s approach to punctuality, will not commence until 1:06 PM. We ask that donations be directed in Mae’s honor to Hope Ridge United Methodist Church or University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. Hope Ridge United Methodist Church 9870 Johnnycake Ridge Road Mentor, OH 44060, University Hospitals Institutional Relations & Development 11100 Euclid Avenue, MCCO-5062 Cleveland, OH 44106-9845