Licensed Directors
Alfred
E. "Fred" Fergerson
A native and life resident of North Syracuse, Mr. Fergerson is a 6th generation member of
the "Pioneering Fergersons" a family who were among the first settlers
of North
Syracuse in 1826. His home and business are on the same family land the Fergersons have
held for more than 180 years. Originally from Scotland, they were farmers who came to Central
New York from Washington County downstate. They had extensive property that was developed
over the years into the populated community of today. Fergerson Parkway, Fergerson Avenue,
Fergerson Road are among several area roadways named in honor of the family.
He is a licensed funeral director, president and owner of Fergerson Funeral Home, Inc. of North Syracuse. He incorporated in 1977, taking over from his father who started the firm in 1948. He was the manager of Fergerson Ambulance & Invalid Coach Service from 1966 until 1978. He is a member of the N.Y.S., National, and Onondaga and Oswego Funeral Directors Associations as well as the Flying Funeral Directors of America. He is a Mortuary Disaster Coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Funeral Directors Association and for the Village of North Syracuse.
He earned his AA in 1968 from Onondaga Community College, and received his BA and BS from SUNY Oswego in 1971, and graduated with honors from Simmons Institute of Funeral Service in 1973. He taught anatomy & physiology at OCC for more than 24 years. He has lectured at the Onondaga County Police Academy for many years. He also taught at Simmons School of Mortuary Science, and is a volunteer instructor for the American Red Cross and for several Emergency Medical Technician courses and seminars held locally and internationally.
He has chaired many village committees for several mayoral administrations. The Chestnut St. Extension project, the Main Street Facade Improvements, NYS DOT Rt. 11 Improvements committee and co-author of the current village sign ordinance are a few of the projects in which he has been actively involved. He is a past president of the North Syracuse Jaycees and a charter member of the Cicero-North Syracuse Optimist Club. He is also a member of the North Syracuse Chamber of Commerce and the Syracuse Better Business Bureau. He currently serves on the North Syracuse Village Board as a Trustee.
He was honored in January 1993 by being inducted to the "North Syracuse Wall of Distinction" which recognizes prominence and civic service to the community. Inductees photos and accomplishments are placed on a wall at the Cicero-North Syracuse High School as role models for area youth. The Star- News December 9th 1992 article listed Mr. Fergerson as "one of the top ten pillars of the greater North Syracuse Community."
He was again honored in May 1993 by being named North Syracuse's "Man of The Year" by the Greater North Syracuse Chamber of Commerce and the Star- News. This recognition was for his "lifetime commitment" to community service and volunteer work to revitalize the Village's central business district. His family was named "The Family of the Year" for the New York State Council of the Knights of Columbus in June of that year.
A past section chief of the National Ski Patrol for the Syracuse Section, he has been a member of the Song Mountain Ski Patrol since 1968 and he holds National Patroller Appointment No. 5832. In 1994 he was presented a national certificate by the NSPS, in recognition for his role in saving the life of a critically injured skier. One of his personal goals is to ski every major ski resort in the world. He traveled extensively and conducted several world ski tours through his tour company FergerLaff International, patrolling with and as a member of several international patrols. He enjoys Scuba diving and is certified as a solo, rescue and master diver. Having dived throughout the world, he qualified himself in his first year as a SSI Century diver. He has always had a love of flying, piloting his Piper single engine plane whenever he gets a chance. He holds a high altitude and pressurization endorsement and has flown as Captain of a Boeing 737-800. He is a member of the Flying Funeral Directors Association of America. He also serves as a senior officer in the US Air Force Auxiliary as a mission pilot for the Civil Air Patrol .
He was one of 30 Syracuse area residents to fly into Syracuse's Hancock International Airport on the British Airway's supersonic Concorde on September 27, 1986. The flight had originated in London. This was the first and only time the Concorde had been in Syracuse. The Syracuse newspapers reported that over 50,000 people were at the airport to witness the event. In November of 1994 he toured the Holy Land and Egypt. Upon his return, he authored a series of articles that were subsequently published. The articles related his experiences in the Middle East which included, retracing the footsteps of Christ and climbing the Pyramids outside of Cairo.
He is a communicant of St. Rose of Lima Church where he serves as a Eucharistic minister and scheduler for all the church's lectors and Eucharistic ministers. He also serves on their Liturgy Committee. He is a 3rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus Bishop Curly Council No. 3717 and fourth degree member of Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy Assembly, of North Syracuse. A 32nd degree Mason, he is a Past Master, and Past Trustee of Centerville Lodge No. 648 F & AM, of North Syracuse, a member of the Central City Bodies of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in the Valley of Syracuse, a Shriner, he is a member of the Director's Staff of the Tigris Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Liverpool and the York Rite Central City Riverside Chapter No. 70 Royal Arch Masons, Central City Council No. 13, Central City Commandery No. 25, and the C.N.Y. York Rite College No. 27, all of Syracuse. He also is a member of the Centerville Chapter No. 185, Order of the Eastern Star, North Syracuse. He served for many years as a Trustee and is one of the founders of the Memorial Masonic Temple Corporation of North Syracuse.
He authored, designed and published this entire website.
Wife: Patricia H.
Son: Alfred W. "Bill"
Daughter: Victoria A. "Vicky"
Maiden Name: Patricia Ann Henderson
Birthday: January 3rd
Education: Lafayette Central Schools graduating with honors 1970, LeMoyne College B.S. in
biology 1974, Simmons School of Mortuary Science graduating 1975. In addition to the
requirements for her funeral directing license, Pat has taken extensive post graduate
courses in grief management from the Catholic church and has attended conferences to keep
current with modern trends of grief therapy.
Occupation: N.Y.S. Licensed Funeral Director
Married: Alfred E. "Fred" Fergerson November 26, 1977
Son: Alfred W. "Bill" Birthday: February 19th
Daughter: Victoria A. "Vicky" Birthday: September 12th
Residency: Native of Syracuse, she resided with her parents and brother in Jamesville from
1952 to 1975 when she moved to Watertown to serve her funeral directing residency with
Cleveland-Spink Funeral Home. Upon completion of her licensee requirements, she married
Fred in 1977 and has been a resident of the village of North Syracuse since.
Employment: Fergerson Funeral Home, Inc. LFD & Corporate Secretary - since 1977. She has also worked with Fairchild & Meech funeral homes and Falardeau Funeral Home as a funeral director since her licenser. Simmons School of Mortuary Science - Instructor 1977-1981, taught Chemistry, Microbiology, Philosophy, Biology, and Restorative Art. (She was the only female instructor at the school at that time.) She also worked part-time for Limited Editions for 3 years and Boat Works Ltd. from 1977 -1985.
Funeral Service Memberships: Onondaga-Oswego Funeral Directors Association New York State Funeral Directors Association National Funeral Directors Association
Active Memberships: Past President CNY (No. Syracuse - Liverpool) Business and Professional Women (BPW). Also served as District and State Chairperson for NYS/BPW and a committee member for National (BPW/USA). President of the Bishop Curley Columbiettes 1996-98 and long time member. Member of Centerville Chapter No. 185 Order of Eastern Star (a current star point). Charter Member Cicero - North Syracuse Optimist Club. Women's Executive Council of the NYS Fair since 1991. North Syracuse Housing Authority: She was appointed to the North Syracuse Housing Authority in 1989 and was reappointed in June of 1994, 1999 and 2004 by Mayor Hotchkiss. Maloney Manor Housing Development Fund Company, Inc: established in 1994, the company developed Maloney Manor (senior citizen housing) in the Village of North Syracuse. She serves as Chairman of the Housing Authority and Development Company.
Past Memberships: Past President North Syracuse Jaycettes 1977-1983, Charter Member North Area Garden Club, former Vice President & Secretary.
Support Memberships: Friends of Historic Onondaga Lake, Friends of Beaver Lake Nature Center, Friends of the Burnet Park Zoo, Syracuse Federation of Women's Clubs, Central New York Chapter of N.O.W., National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Museum of Women in the Arts, National Women's Hall of Fame, National Arbor Day Foundation and Tree City.
She has served on numerous committees and boards for the Village of North Syracuse. Among them are: Mayor Wortel's Blue Ribbon Committee, the Beautification Committee where she was co-chairman of the reactivated committee. She initiated in 1989 the Tree City program for the Village, she has chaired the Arbor Day celebrations since establishing the program in 1988.
She is a communicant and lector at St. Rose of Lima Church, North Syracuse. She had been a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician with the 1981 National Sports Festival, the Song Mountain Ski Patrol, the Landmark Theater Medical Staff, and the Onondaga County Parks Medical Staff until 1993. She also instructed courses for EMT's at Onondaga Community College with her husband.
A Red Cross volunteer blood donor, she has donated over 14 gallons of A- blood since 1970.
She and her husband have taught several courses dealing with youth education in funeral service in the North Syracuse School District as well as in their funeral home. Several local churches have had their confirmation classes attend these classes. Girl Scout troops have also attended these classes for badge qualifications.
At Smith Road Elementary School she participated in the Job Shadow Cooperative Project with Career Center at Cicero-North Syracuse High School in the late 90's. At Roxboro Road Middle School she brought the fifth grade students Women's History Month Programs.
Honors:
She and her family where named the New York State Family of the Year for 1993 by the N.Y.S. Council of the Knights of Columbus. The local Bishop Curly Council No. 3717 submitted their names for the State award after voting them the Council's Family of the Year.
She was named North Syracuse Star News Woman of the Year for 1995. This award was given in recognition of many community service activities over the course of several years in October of 1996. Central New York BPW (Business and Professional Women) recognized her in 1999 and in 2007 as their Woman of the Year. April 26, 2003 she was awarded the "Today's Patriot Award" by the Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy Assembly of the Knights of Columbus, North Syracuse for continuing community service.
Alfred W. “Bill” Fergerson represents the third generation of LFD’s (Licensed Funeral Director) in the Fergerson family, as well as the seventh generation to live on the same land in the center of North Syracuse. He joins his parents Fred and Pat Fergerson in the business begun by his grandfather, Alfred H. Fergerson.
He graduated from Cicero North Syracuse High School in 2002. He completed two years of study in one year graduating in 2003 from Simmon’s Institute of Funeral Service in Syracuse with an Associate Degree. His academic and clinical studies included classes in sciences such as anatomy, chemistry, microbiology and embalming, business and social sciences, including bereavement counseling, law and ethics. While a student there, he taught computer classes to his classmates and was a member and secretary of Sigma Phi Sigma fraternity. Upon graduation, he passed the Funeral Service Academy’s National Board Exam and then served a required one year residency as a registered intern with the family firm. During that residency, he passed the NYS Department of Health’s Bureau of Funeral Directing Law Exam in Albany. He currently attends LeMoyne College as he continues his education and to pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.
Bill has always been active in community events. He was a member and leader of Troop 150 Boy Scouts of America for many years. He is a third degree member of the Bishop Curley Council No. 3717 and fourth degree member of Msgr. Jeremiah McCarthy Assembly, Knights of Columbus of North Syracuse. He is a communicant of St. Rose of Lima Church where he serves as a Eucharistic minister. He is a volunteer Ski Patrolman with the Song Mt. Ski Patrol. He also is a certified SCUBA diver and has traveled around the world in pursuit of these two sports. He is a officer in Memorial Lodge No. 648 F&AM of North Syracuse, a 32nd degree member of the Central City Bodies of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in the Valley of Syracuse, a Shriner, he is a member and V.P. of the Director's Staff of the Tigris Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Liverpool and the York Rite Central City Riverside Chapter No. 70 Royal Arch Masons, Central City Council No. 13 of Syracuse. He also is a member of the Centerville Chapter No. 185, Order of the Eastern Star, North Syracuse.
Why is he called “Bill”? It has been a tradition in the Fergerson family to name the first born male in each generation “Alfred”. The middle name is from the maternal grandfather’s first name. Another tradition is not to leave the land they have occupied since 1826. At one time, three Alfreds lived in one house (now the family home). To avoid confusion they called the oldest, Bill’s Great-grandfather, Alfred C. “Alfred”; the next, Alfred H. “Al”; and the next, Alfred E. is called “Fred”. When Alfred W. came along, his nickname was from his middle initial (William) so he is “Bill”.
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