A Lifetime, A Legacy: Jack Ferguson
Jack Ferguson's high school graduation photo, 1952.
There’s a saying that strangers are just friends waiting to happen. Perhaps that was one of the mottos that John “Jack” Ferguson Jr. lived by, as his life was enriched by the many, many friends he made.
Ferguson was blessed with the ability to converse with people he didn’t know – a gift that served him well in 1981 when he established Ferguson Dechert Real Estate on Dune Drive in Avalon with his friend, Allan “Dutch” Dechert. The company has grown to become a market leader at Seven Mile Beach.
And although it’s been more than a year since he died at age 84, Ferguson’s memory lives on in the minds of his family and that legion of friends.
“My dad was very outgoing, very social, and loved to talk to people,” says his son, Bob. “He would meet friends wherever he went. He would strike up conversations with strangers; he was a very kind person. He would open doors for women. At his funeral, people came up to me and said, ‘Your father was a true gentleman.’”
A native of the Kensington section of Philadelphia, Ferguson arrived in Avalon not long after serving several years in the U.S. Navy aboard a destroyer during the Korean War, a chapter of his life of which he was extremely proud.
Along the way, he and his wife of 56 years, Lolly, raised two boys – Bob, who still lives in Avalon, and John, who died in 2017. Their family eventually grew to include grandchildren Robert, Andrew, Johnny, Kirsten, Joseph, Kimmy, Zac and Drew, and great-grandchildren Olivia and Abigail Spencer.
Bob Ferguson has fond childhood memories of growing up in Avalon, made all that more special by his parents.
“We were a tight-knit family,” he recalls. “Everything was fun. All my friends loved my mom and dad. We’d congregate at our house and swim in the pool, and they were part of the gang.”
His father’s business partner, De-chert, remembers that his first job out of college brought him to the Philadelphia area, and a fraternity brother’s parents had a house in Avalon.
“That’s how I got introduced to Avalon,” Dechert says. “I started hanging out down here, and met Jack through mutual friends.”
Eventually, in February 1981, they decided to open a real estate office together.
“We built the business up to where it is today,” Dechert says. “Jack was my good friend, like a big brother to me. We did things together; he was very friendly and he loved a good time. He was a classic salesman. He could put deals together left and right. He also loved going to his home in Hobe Sound, Fla., during the winter. We spent a lot of time there with him and Lolly.”
Charles and Martha Richardson were longtime friends of the Fergusons. Martha’s connection with Lolly dated back to their high school days.
“Lolly was a character. She was a cheerleader and good in sports,” Martha says. “She was a very fun-loving person and popular in school. We would go to Jack and Lolly’s parties in Avalon and we would stay with them in Florida for a few days every winter. Jack was the life of the party and very friendly.”
Bob Ferguson recalls that his parents had so many friends that, after they retired to Hobe Sound, they would make a schedule of who was coming down to visit, and when.
“They loved retirement in Florida,” Bob says. “And every year they would have a big party on St. Patrick’s Day.”
He says his father was a Boy Scout leader and active in the Avalon Volunteer Fire Department. He added that in his later years, he especially liked going to the First United Methodist Church of Avalon, and sang in the choir.
Not surprisingly, Jack became good friends with Pastor David Montanye soon after Montanye delivered his first sermon at the church in July 2012.
“That’s when I met Jack,” Montanye recalls. “He and Lolly invited my wife Sue and I to his home, and we hit it off immediately. They were always looking to extend hospitality, and their faith was a part of that.”
Soon, Ferguson became the impetus and the organizer behind the church’s chicken barbecue, which raised thousands of dollars for various mission programs.
“Jack used his contacts and his people skills to get people to buy tickets,” Montanye says. “As a pastor, I thought that this was someone I really wanted to work with.”
The pastor says there were many other times Ferguson was able to help the church.
“Four months after I arrived, Superstorm Sandy hit Avalon,” he says. “Jack was incredibly helpful with navigating forms and insurance and raising money because there was 2½ feet of water underneath the church, more than $40,000 worth of damage. Our pipe organ was damaged, and that was expensive to fix, as well as the irrigation system for the lawn.”
Montanye notes that Ferguson later served a term as a lay leader, a position of honor in the church. The pastor has “great memories” of choir parties at Christmas, when Jack, Lolly, and other members would tell stories about old Avalon.
“Jack and I shared a Scottish background and roots,” Montanye says, “and I’d pick out all the Scottish hymns I could find to use on Sundays.”
The Fergusons were also active with the Blind Center of the Jersey Cape, which held meetings at their church. They volunteered and assisted people, doing what they could to support the Blind Center’s efforts, and Ferguson was on its board.
During the last years of Lolly’s life, her husband took care of her, staying up all night if necessary. And Montanye tried to be there for them both. She died in February 2016.
“Lolly was a key to his life,” the pastor says. “She was a person of deep faith and she shared that with Jack.”
Montanye delivered the homily at Jack Ferguson’s memorial service on Aug. 16, 2019. To those assembled at the First United Methodist Church, he said:
“Today, there is so much that we can celebrate about a life well-lived. Jack was a salesman, which made him a people person. He was always glad to see people, and so many people were always glad to see him. If you simply look around this room today, you will see how many lives he touched.”
